


Above the Doctor

by Rachel_Lu



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cute, Dimension-Hopping Rose, Doctor and Rose reuinon, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Love, Love Confessions, Post-Episode AU: s02e13 Doomsday, Post-Episode: s02e13 Doomsday, Reunions, The Master Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-02 06:05:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 47,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8653678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_Lu/pseuds/Rachel_Lu
Summary: The Doctor and Donna run into someone that he has been pining over for quite some time, but as always, trouble approaches, and they are forced to remember that the year that never happened really did happen, and there might just be someone stronger than the Doctor





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Remember when I said I wasn't gonna write? That was fun while it lasted!
> 
> Enjoy! Leave feedback, please, if you think you'll enjoy! i think it started alright.

"Look at _that,_ Donna Noble! The most incredible shopping planet in the world, just like you wanted!"

It was fantastic, no one was denying that, least of all Donna Noble. She pulled up the collar of her coat. "Looks like Times Square!" She said excitedly.

The Doctor wrinkled his nose. "It's _bigger_ than Times Square, Donna, I thought you would know that."

"I've never been to Times Square, Dumbo," She told him, "This is exciting, why can't you let your companions be excited, eh?  Ooh, we should've brought Martha!"

"Martha is very busy trying to become a doctor," the Doctor reminded her, trying not to think about how badly he had hurt Martha.  She had left just a little awhile ago, and of course Donna knew her, and of course Donna wanted her to come back with them.  Martha hadn't wanted to come, though, said she'd had enough time traveling, for awhile at least.  The Doctor had accepted that, and he had known, of course, that part of that was his fault.  He didn't feel that bad about it, though.  He was only happy that he hadn't led her on. 

His mind wandered, as it did these days, back to the girl he lost, and wondered about all the time.  He never mentioned her to Donna, not after that one Christmas, but he could tel that Donna was still curious, and wanted to ask questions. Somehow, with what little self control she had, she never said anything. 

"Go on, you go shopping," he said absently, "I'll have a look around myself."

"Is it safe?" Donna asked. 

The Doctor scowled at her, "Of course it's safe.  Would I ever take you somewhere it wasn't- you know, I don't think I want you to answer that."

"No, I don't think you do. Now you've got that mobile that Martha gave you?"

"Yes."

"Good, and I have the number, so don't you worry."

"I'm... I'm not worried."

"Yeah? Well, you sure look worried."

"Thank you, Donna."

She nudged his shoulder. "No problem, spaceman, now, you go about and do your thing.  I'm gonna pick up some new scarves and stuff."

"I'll meet you at... That cafe, in two hours," he said, pointing across the street.  Donna nodded and beamed at him before he handed her a credit stick and she left his side.

He couldn't help but laugh as she made her way into the crowd. They practically parted for her, and the Doctor couldn't say he blamed them. She was a bit forceful and pushy, but he supposed that was part of her charm.  Well, to some people, at least.  

With Donna gone he was left with less distractions. He didn't know what it was about this girl that he couldn't let go.  Or at least, he told himself that he didn't' know what it was.  But of course, he was incredibly aware of her absence, the lack of a hand in his. Donna wasn't much of a hand holder, and the Doctor had a feeling that even if she was, it wouldn't feel right.  Not like it had with her.  He looked down at his right hand.  She had held it quite often.  

He wished she would hold it again.

But of course, she wasn't here, and he was left to his own devices, to trot around time and space and pretend that he hadn't lost the most important thing that had ever belonged to him.  Not that she had _belonged_ to him, he didn't _own_ her, but he would've liked to possess her.  To hold her as close as humanly possible.

He was a Time Lord, for God's sake. He wasn't supposed to love anyone like that.  Absolutely not.  Never.  But she had changed him, and he had wanted to hold her forever.  It was a feeling that he was not familiar with, but one that he wasn't adverse to in any way. 

He wandered out of the street and to the sidewalk near the sidewalk shops.  Some of them were massive, some of them quite small, and some of them narrow and deep.  She would've loved it here, and he was sure that he would've wanted to take her.  

The shops were crowded, like it was Christmas time.  It wasn't, of course, but it was cold enough to fake it and pretend that it was Christmas.  He hadn't had a proper Christmas since he'd picked Donna up the first time.  There had been Christmases after that, but they weren't the same, and they weren't any fun.  Even if there was trouble.  It was harder when he had no companions with him to bounce ideas off of, to solve problems with.  That was the most exciting thing about an adventure, after all!  Was someone to share it with. He had said it before.  That the most important thing in the universe was a hand to hold.  And he had meant it.  

His hands were in his pockets now, though, no hands to hold around here.  And he wasn't about to go around and hold random strangers' hands.  That would just be a bit foolish.  He wandered into a book shop that caught his eye, and started roaming the aisles.  

The TARDIS translated books for him into whatever language he felt like reading in at that point in time, but it was usually straight to English or Gallifreyan.  Although, he only really read in Gallifreyan when he was on the TARDIS. It just felt safer to read in his native tongue there.  So all the books, no matter what language they were in, were translated into English.  There was poetry and novels and completely inaccurate science fiction section. He would label that the 'humor' section. 

"Doctor!"

He heard it in his mind, and he stiffened violently at it, his hand on a book of old poetry.  That was so impossible he couldn't think straight.  They were on a sixty second century planet that had been colonized by humans and many other species. It wasn't Earth.  But that was her voice, the South London accent digging into him and relocating itself right between his hearts, where it had been from the moment he met her. 

He didn't allow himself to think her name anymore. He sniffed and took a casual glance around the shop. Just as he figured. She wasn't here.  She wouldn't be. Couldn't be! She was with her not-father and her pregnant mother, sealed away in a parallel universe that he wished he could save her from.  

Although, maybe she didn't need saving.  Maybe she was with a man now, happy and married and pregnant herself.  He cringed at the thought, wondering what evil part of the universe had let her voice enter his head.  That wasn't fair.  And if there was one thing the Doctor knew, it was fair.  Or at least, he'd like to think he did.  He tried to make things fair, but he could also feel himself falling into an odd part of himself that he wasn't supposed to have. The angry part that tore him apart when he was alone.  But he wasn't alone.  He had Donna.  But it wasn't the same. 

"Doctor!"

He shook himself and picked up the book, determined now to buy the book because it reminded him of her.  It was probably a bad idea, he had to admit, but he couldn't pass if up, not when he'd heard her name when he touched it.  He wanted to hear her voice call his name, over and over and over again.  He had missed her. He missed her.  He wanted to tell her things that he knew he wouldn't be able to say if he actually saw her again. 

Nevertheless, now was not the time to think about that.  He held the book in one hand and continued to look around the shop.  One of the shop women bounded up to him, her smile bright. 

"Can I help you?"

He looked up at her, her bright blue eyes and brown hair. Immediately it registered in his brain: _Not human._ He smiled, trying to be friendly.  "No thank you, I'm just looking around here."

"Of course," she said, "Let us know if you need anything, yeah?" 

"Sure. Thank you."

She gave him another look and walked off, perhaps with a bit more swing in her step than before.  The Doctor wrinkled his nose in disgust. He had noticed that a lot, since she had left.  That women thought they had a chance with him because he was alone.  But when he was with her, he didn't need to worry about that.  Because she held his hand, and stayed with him like she was.... No. He wasn't allowed to think that.  He wasn't allowed to think about her like that. 

Except he did.  All the time.  Even after she was gone.  He thought about what it would be like if she was next to him, if things had been different on the nights they shared a bed.  He had never done that before Rose, shared a bed with a companion.  But one night she had a nightmare and she'd come into his room and she'd looked so helpless that he had just wanted to protect her forever and ever, and that was alright with him.  She had been in his arms that night, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and she had breathed deeply and evenly, free of nightmares. 

And ever since then, if one of them didn't want to be alone, they simply weren't alone anymore.  Various states of dress, cuddled up against each other.  She had once said that the beats of his hearts were calming.  He had taken an odd pride in that.  

But she was gone. 

He blew out his cheeks and combed his hand through his hair.  Every time he was alone, he thought about her, and perhaps it was time he stopped letting himself be alone.  That's why he had Donna, after all.  

He couldn't find anything else at the store that he wanted, so he purchased the book and studiously ignored the shop girl as he went out to look for Donna. She'd probably gotten into trouble, he thought to himself. 

****  
She looked up from her magazine as a red headed woman stood by her table.

"Sorry, this place is bloody packed.  Could I sit here? I won't bother you."

"Please, bother me, I'm just waiting for someone," she said, smiling, and gesturing for the woman to sit.  

"I'm Donna, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you."

If Donna was put out by her not saying her name, she didn't say anything about it.  "I'm just waiting for a friend. He's supposed to pick me up around here.  But it's really just... Really packed in here."

The woman smiled and nodded, lifting her tea mug to her lips. "Tell me about it. I almost left."

"But you're waiting for someone."

"If he decides to show up, yes."

"Oh," Donna said, more than a little puzzled. "Guess you could say the same for mine. Gets a bit distracted, he does."

"Boyfriend?" The woman asked.

"No!  God, no," Donna made a face and shook her head. "I think he's possibly the worst candidate for a woman to marry.  Not to mention he's a skinny strip of nothing.  He's just a mate of mine. And you're waiting for-?"

She smiled sadly. "I wouldn't call him that. I would've, I mean, but I couldn't.  We're not... We weren't."  She shook her head.  "Doesn't matter."

"Sure it does, if it's important to you."

"It'll be important to me if he shows up."

Just then Donna's mobile started ringing, and she gave the woman an apologetic look before answering. "Yeah?"  After a moment, she answered. "Yeah Doctor, I'm here.  It's packed, I don't think we can eat here."

"Doctor?"

Donna looked at the woman.  She'd gone sheet white and clenched her fingers around the magazine. 

"Yeah, his name's the Doctor."  She went back to her phone.  "See you in a bit."  She hung up and focused on the woman again. "Are you alright?"

"I didn't think he'd actually come."

"What are you talking about? Are you looking for the Doctor?"

She nodded and whispered "Yes."

"What's your name, sweetheart? Do you know him well?" Donna was panicking a bit.  She'd never seen anyone react this way to the idea of seeing the Doctor. 

The woman nodded and focused her attention on Donna.  "Yeah, yeah, I did know him well. I've been trying to... Get back... My name's Rose. Rose Tyler."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reunion takes place. Prepare for possessive/protective Doctor in future chapters!
> 
> Also I really truly want to do a Soulmate AU where you can communicate with your soulmate via your skin but that's already been done ugghhh.. Maybe telepathy?? Although that one has most likely been done I haven't ready any on it...

Donna felt her mouth drop open. "You're Rose Tyler?"

Rose looked confused. "You know who I am?"

"That idiot never shuts up about you!  Never!  The very first day I met him it was all 'my friend Rose' this and 'ah, yes, Rose' that."  She shook her head and laughed. "He's gonna be so happy to see you."

Rose fiddled anxiously with the pages of her magazine. "D'you think... I don't know.  He might have gotten over me by now, if he was ever... I was in love with him, Donna, and he didn't love me back."

"Well, we'll see what he has to say when he gets here. He's on his way. Shouldn't be too far at this point, eh?" Donna found herself growing quite excited by the idea of a reunion between the Doctor and Rose.  

Rose nodded. "How long have you traveled with him?"

Donna wrinkled her nose in thought. "About six months," she said, "The first time he asked me to come with him I told him no, so he skipped off and traveled with a woman who was going to become a doctor for awhile. A different doctor. Her name was Martha. She fancied him."

"Oh?"  Rose picked at her cuticles, pretending not be upset.

"No, no, don't get like that. She left because he wasn't paying attention to her, didn't see her.  She apparently tried to get his attention and... " Donna smiled sheepishly, "He talked about you all the time.  Had to live with your ghost so to speak."

Rose blushed. "That doesn't mean he... Feels the same way about me that I feel about him.  We'll just have to see."

"Rose, I'm trying not to be presumptuous, but I'm sure... I'm sure that he does.  I could see his heart... Well hearts- breaking when he talked about you.  You mean the world to him, it killed him to lose you."

She smiled, one that told of a broken heart and a life broken because she didn't have her best friend anymore. "What... I'm sorry, this is so... I dunno, arrogant, I guess, but what did he say about me?"

Donna smiled. "That you were brilliant, and you always said the right things.  And that you trusted him.  And he said you were... Together."

She bit her lip and looked away, blushing a little. She hadn't expected a sentiment, not like that.  Not from the Doctor, anyway.  But talking about him was giving her anxiety and she just either wanted to see him again or not see him, but the suspense in the middle of all of that was absolutely killing her.  

"Rose?"

"Um, sorry, got a bit caught up for a moment there.  Just kind of... What are the odds, that I run into you? You're his companion.  Is he alright?"

Donna sighed, "We had a bit of run in with something the Doctor didn't understand. We were on this planet, Midnight, it was supposed to be a good time, and it wasn't.  But I think the Doctor should be telling you all about that.  And I think he will. At the right time, you know."

Rose furrowed her brows in concern. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he is now, but I think he needed you that night.  He kept clasping his hands together like he was holding hands... But by himself, oh, Rose it was so sad."

"That's what he said. That a hand to hold is the most important thing in the universe.  I think he meant it."  She bit her lip and looked down at her magazine before glancing up at Donna. "I never wanted him to not have a hand to hold."

"Oi, don't look at me. I wasn't built for holding hands, especially not with the Doctor.  Gave him a few hugs, mind, but what he really wanted, more than anything else, was you.  I could tell."

"No, I don't think that was it.  There had to be a million women who could've held his hand... Or more, if he had wanted to."

"Rose, don't you see, he didn't _want_ anybody else.  You know that. You have to." Donna was confused to say the least. She knew that there was something strong between the two of them, that she could see without even meeting Rose.  

"I know that he cared for me. But I know he's cared for every companion he's ever had. I also know that I couldn't live a life without my best friend.  Well, I could've, I guess, and I did for awhile, but it wasn't the same. I've never met someone I click with that well."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I tried dating.  But none of them looked right.  None of them were him.  And that was wrong, I shouldn't have tried to make them be him in my mind, and I should've tried harder, but I didn't."

"Did you-"

"No."  She shook her head.   "I never did anything with anybody that wasn't the Doctor.  Besides..."

"Oh?"

"I kissed a couple guys. One of the times I was drunk and right after I kissed him I looked him in the eyes and burst into tears.  The second time I was sober and I still cried.  I couldn't live like that. So after two years, I did something about it.  I had to."

"What did you do?"

Rose screwed up her face. "It's a bit complicated. I'd rather just explain it once, if it's all the same to you.  When... When the Doctor gets here.  If he wants me to stay."

"Why would he not want you to stay?"

"What does he look like?" She asked earnestly.

"Tall, brown hair, the same damn suit every bloody day.  Though he's got two colors.  Bully for him."

Rose smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah.  Blue and brown. Thinks he's rather dashing, he does.  Guess he would have to, with all the women that fall all over him."

Rose let out a bark of laughter and placed a fist over her mouth.  Tears brimmed in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just... I'm so happy."

Donna smiled. "And you haven't even seen him yet."

Rose made Donna get off the subject of the Doctor, just because it gave her so much anxiety, what with knowing she was going to see him again.  But they found out that the two of them were quite friendly together, and found that they had a lot in common.  They chatted so easily that she almost forgot the Doctor was coming.  

The door to the cafe opened, and since Rose's back was to the door, she couldn't do anything but stiffen and freeze.  She swallowed hard and Donna gave her a puzzled look.

"How did you know it was him?" She demanded, looking over Rose's shoulder at the man who was looking around for her.  

"I just did," she murmured. "I know him."

"His footsteps?" Donna questioned. 

"Yeah.  I know his footsteps."

"Donna, there you are!" his voice jolted her.  "I see you've made a friend, hello."  He rounded their table and she lifted her eyes to him.  He was smiling, his eyes twinkling along merrily along until her eyes reached his. His smile fell and his mouth dropped open.  He looked incredibly confused. She wasn't sure if she should be hurt or not by that.

"Wha- what? I can't. I'm-" She saw his hands were shaking as he stuttered so she stood up and stood in front of him, wanting to take his hands but holding back. 

"Hi." She said, her voice trembling, and it felt so inadequate for what she wanted to say, and tell him.  She wanted to tell him that she loved him again, but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the response. 

"You-" he blinked and stared and she giggled a little bit, trying not to jump him right there.  She felt her own hands twitch at her sides.

"Me." She grinned at him, wanting, possibly needing to touch him, but she wanted him to make the first move.  It wasn't like she could just throw herself at him like she used to be able to. Their relationship couldn't be like that anymore, or at least, it wouldn't be.  Not yet.  

His hands shook even more violently at his sides and he raised his hands a little bit, as if wanting to touch her waist.  And then she really couldn't take the pressure anymore and had to speak, say some real words. 

She smiled a little softer and reached up to touch his cheek, as she hadn't been able to on that beach. The feel of his skin under her palm was comforting, and she could barely believe that he was here, in front of her, shocked though he was.  "Doctor." she whispered, reveling in the ability to say his name and for him to be able to hear it.

He made an odd sound in the back of his throat that was either a choke or an attempt at a word, and he drew her violently into his arms, her breath whooshing out of her as her body connected with his.  She threw her arms around his neck instinctively, pulling him in tightly.  His arms were wrapped so tightly around her that she could barely expand her ribs so that she could breathe. He was breathing ragged breaths against her ear and murmuring her name around those breaths like a prayer.  She closed her eyes and stroked the hair at the back of his neck, hoping to calm him. 

"It's okay."

"You're here.  Rose, you're _here."_

"I am."

Donna was so happy she couldn't even be bothered to interrupt them. She was, however, surprised that they were able to have a conversation in that position. Didn't they want to look at each other?  Though, she supposed, they'd probably done enough looking and wanted to feel that the other person was there and alive.

"Doctor?"

"Yes, Rose."

"What, did you miss me or something?" She asked teasingly. 

He squeezed her tighter, his nose pressed into her hair. "I missed you so much, Rose."

She released him slightly, but he seemed unwilling to relinquish his grip on her, so she smacked his shoulder lightly so that he would look her in the face.  He studied her carefully, and Rose cupped his cheek. 

"I missed this face," she teased, stroking her thumb over his cheek.  She saw tears brimming in his eyes and her brows furrowed. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No," he whispered, 'You could never do anything wrong."

She wrinkled her nose, "Well, that's not true."

"Hello?" The novelty of them being cute had passed and Donna was hungry.  "Let's eat, shall we?  You can do whatever you want once we're back on the TARDIS."

Rose blushed deeply and slid into the booth, and the Doctor was only a half second behind, as he didn't want to be away from Rose for very long at all.  He grabbed her hand and held it tight, lacing their fingers together.  

The waitress, a green woman with four arms that reminded Donna of an Indian Goddess, took their order.  Donna ordered a chicken salad, but she was told the chicken wasn't really chicken but she couldn't help herself.  

The waitress looked over at Rose.  "And you, miss?"

"Um. Just chips, if you have them."

"Of course."

The Doctor drew his and Rose's hands onto his knee.  He gave her an affectionate look at the familiarity of what they were doing, sitting in a cafe, ordering chips.  With Donna, of course, but he was sure that she didn't mind.

"And you, sir?"

"Chips as well," he said without thinking.  Whatever Rose wanted, that was what he wanted.  He always had.

They didn't stay long because the Doctor was quite anxious and fidgety.  He shifted around in his seat and unlaced and laced his fingers with Rose's, making her eat with her non dominant hand just because he couldn't bear to release her.  His thigh was pressed against hers the whole time they ate, until Donna suggested quite brusquely that they should go.

"You'll... You'll come with us?" He asked timidly. 

She nodded. "Yeah. Let's go home."

When they approached the TARDIS, she touched the wood gently.  "Missed you," she said softly, and heard and felt the happy hum the TARDIS gave her in return.  The Doctor led her in and Donna followed behind, grinning happily, feeling like she was watching a romantic comedy.

And it was because of that that she retired early, begging off that shopping made her tired. The Doctor sent them quietly into the vortex after she left, and Rose sat on the jump seat, her former spot, and kicked her feet anxiously.  He looked up at her from the controls.  It was the first time since they'd reunited that he wasn't holding her hand. 

"I think we need to have a talk."


	3. Chapter 3

Rose kicked her feet and watched him. "Okay," she said, sounding just as nervous as she felt.  The Doctor stood at the console and tried to ignore the happy hum the TARDIS was sending him. He had a few questions and if he got swept up in all the happiness that Rose was providing, he was going to lose his mind.  

"Do you know what I'm going to say?"

"I could never tell what you were going to say," Rose said as he approached her. She patted the jump seat next to her. He sat down next to her, one leg bent up so he could face her.  She turned her shoulders so she could look at him. 

"How did you get here?" he asked, "I tried for years to try and find you, but it wasn't working. There wasn't anything that could take me back to you.  I _tried,_ I never stopped trying.  So why don't... Why can't... How did you get here?"

"Do you mean, 'how did I do it when you couldn't'?" she asked smugly.  "I worked at Torchwood, while I was there."

The Doctor scowled. 

"Calm down," she rolled her eyes. "Different.  I took Uni classes in physics and science and finally got everything I needed to build a dimension cannon."

"A dimension cannon!" The Doctor nearly shouted. "Rose, do you know how dangerous that is?  Any idea?"

"Yes!" Rose snapped, "I _built_ the bloody thing, I know how dangerous it is!"

The Doctor shut right up after that, cowering a bit. 

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I didn't mean to shout at you.  I know you only want me safe.  But I took care of it, I'm back, safe." she smiled, "There were a few bumps, but, that's all."

"Bumps?"

"Accidents," She said, "The team sometimes sent me to the wrong spot, or you'd just been there, or you were about to arrive but on the wrong end of the planet." She furrowed her brows. "I forgot how fast you move. I couldn't keep up."

"How long have you been looking?" he asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer.

Rose smiled softly. "About a year."

He closed his eyes, and it look like he'd caught a blow to the chest.  She reached out and took his hand in both of hers. "I didn't want to tell you, but I had a feeling that you would ask.  Please look at me, Doctor."

"A year?  You've been dimension hopping for a _year?"_ He asked, tears brimming in his eyes. 

"Yeah," she replied, "But I made it, look, I'm here, Doctor, please!" She pleaded with him, but he was sinking quickly into self pity and guilt, because he thought it was his fault.

"Where did you almost find me?"

"Well, the first time was when that hospital went to the moon, and-"

He let out a groan of anguish and stood up and walked towards the console.  He braced himself against the rail and leaned over the buttons.  "That was only six months after I'd lost you, Rose."

"Oh," she said softly.  "I was... I was close."

"I can't-" he shook his head, "I invited Martha to come with me, I should've waited, I should've _waited_ for you."

Rose felt her heart breaking for him. "Doctor, how could you have known? How could you have known that I was trying to find you? You couldn't have!" She answered herself, "There was no way.  And Martha, she was probably... Good for you, yeah?  The doctor?  Not the you Doctor, but a medical doctor?" she pried, trying to make him feel less guilt for what was happening.  This wasn't his fault, it could never be his fault. 

"She fancied me."

"I... Donna told me." 

"And I didn't fancy her," He said, "I really didn't.  I just snogged her the once."

"What?" Rose wanted her voice to come out angry, but it just came out small and timid.  

He leaned farther over the console. "It was a genetic transfer, it didn't mean anything, but she thought that something was between us and it wasn't."

"Donna says you talked about me and that's why she left."

He breathed out a ragged sigh. "Yes.  That's why she left." He said, looking at her.  "I'm sorry Rose."

"So you're not mad at me anymore?"

"No, I'm still mad at you. What you did was incredibly dangerous and I can't believe you would do something like this."  He snapped, and looked away from her, "I'm sorry."

She felt herself brimming on tears, so she just nodded and wiped her nose.  "Um, I guess it's time for me to go to bed.  Is my room still in the same spot?"

"Rose, don't go," he stood up all the way, not coming near her, but looking at her anxiously. 

"It's fine," Rose said, shaking her head. "It's really fine. You definitely need some time to think about this.  I'm sorry I put so much pressure on you."  She zipped up her jacket, trying to feel just a bit safer.  Not that she didn't feel safe with the Doctor, but she was feeling a bit exposed. 

"Rose?" He asked as she started down the hallway. 

"Yes, Doctor?" she didn't turn around, because now she was really crying. he was turning her away, and that was the opposite of what she wanted. She wanted him to want to be with her.  She wanted him to want her to stay, and she wasn't sure that was what he wanted anymore. 

"Can I give you a hug, please?" He asked, and he sounded so broken that she turned on her heel and sprinted at him, throwing her arms around his neck.  He clutched her tightly to himself, his nose pressed against her neck.  "I missed you," he whispered. 

"I missed you too," she said, "Thought that was obvious."

He pulled her tighter, lifting her on her toes. "No, I can't... Rose, you can't do anything like that again."

"I'm not planning to," Rose said, "This was a one way trip, you know. I'm staying with you."  

The Doctor was loath to pull back, but when Rose went a little limp in his arms he did, his hands ghosting along her waist.  "Goodnight," he said, "I'm... I know this wasn't what you expected, what you wanted."

She shook her head, even though all she wanted to do was to nod and smack him and tell him to kiss her or drop her back off on Earth so she could fend for herself and not be so frustrated all the time.  She blew out her cheeks and stepped back from him. 

"Yeah, well, it's whatever you want, Doctor. I'll see you in the morning," she said, and turned back to walk towards where her room originally was.  It was still there, and still unlocked. She opened the door and stepped inside, staring at everything there.  It was immaculate, her pictures the way they were, all her drawers closed.  He'd _cleaned up_ after her.  Her covers were turned down, like someone had been there.  She sat down on the bed and opened her mouth in shock.  She picked up her pillow and pressed her nose into it.  It smelled like his cologne, or him, if he didn't use a cologne.  

She set the pillow back and felt tears welling up again, covering her mouth. This wasn't fair. She wanted him to want her, and here he had been, sleeping in her bed, or at least laying on it.  She tried not to think about him being there.  He'd slept in the same bed with her when she still lived in the TARDIS, but of course, the scent of her own perfume and soap had long since left the bed.  She bit her lip and inhaled deeply, trying to control herself.  This was ridiculous. He'd made his choice. She was going to have to be happy with the way things had been.  She had thought that he would sweep her into his arms and kiss her until she couldn't breathe.

Though, she wasn't shaking a finger at two bone crushing hugs.  Those were his specialty. 

Shaking herself, she showered and changed into a pair of her comfiest flannel pjs, which still fit her perfectly.  This was fine, really.  She put on a pair of fuzzy socks and climbed into bed, still hearing the TARDIS humming happily in her mind.

"I missed you too," she told the ship, touching the wall before burying herself in the covers. "Could you turn the lights off for me?"

The ship kept on singing happily and shut off the lights, but didn't' stop singing. Some people probably would've found it annoying, if they hadn't been on the ship long, but she really did find the ship's humming soothing.  She cuddled down in the covers and fell asleep quite easily, the TARDIS lulling her right there. 

She woke up a couple hours later to a light knock on her door.  She sat up and blearily gazed at the door and then her clock.   _12:52 am._ Now, it was far to early for all that.  "Come in," she said.  

She was surprised when the Doctor entered, wearing his pajamas. 

"What's up?" she asked, squinting at him against the light that was filtering in from the hallway.

"I was trying to sleep, and I couldn't," he said, "Not with you right down the hall and I wasn't with you."

"Come on then," she said, patting the side of the bed that she used to let him sleep on when he came in.  After a particularly harrowing adventure, it was nice to be able to hold each other, so it only made sense that they would only have their own sides of the bed. If she tended to gravitate to her side like the Doctor was next to her, well, that was her business. 

He shuffled over to her and took off his dressing gown before tentatively crawling under the covers with her.  Rose looked him over and giggled a little when she saw what he was wearing.

"You've got Howard's jim jams on," she said.

"I didn't mean to steal them, but they are comfortable," he said, laying on his side.  He pulled the covers over the both of them.  

"You so did," she whispered, afraid to fall back into their normal banter, afraid that wasn't okay.  She tucked her hands up under her chin.  "It's okay, I don't think he even noticed."

"Not like he can ask your mum for them," he said. "Is she happy?"

Rose nodded. "She's really happy," she said, "She's got Pete and my little brother, Tony.  And Mickey and his gran. She's got... Everyone," she rubbed her nose. "I think she'll still miss me though."

"I'm sorry you left her."

"I'm not," Rose said firmly, "I'm not sorry I'm with you, I'm not sorry I chose this. I'm so _happy,_ Doctor, don't you understand that?  The whole time I was in Pete's World, trying to cope, I couldn't.  I needed to get back to you."

"What do you mean, you tried to cope?" He asked softly. 

"I mean, I tried to integrate myself into society, and I couldn't do it," she said, "You know, it's bloody difficult to go back to a regular life when you've traveled the stars with your best mate."  She turned her face down, away from him.  "I wanted to come back."

He reached out for her and then pulled his hand back. "Can I hold you?" He asked softly. 

She lifted her eyes back to his. "You've never asked me before."

He blinked at her. "I didn't know if I was still allowed." 

"You've always been allowed," she told him, hoping he would read into it the way she wanted him to.  "Please."

He scooted forward and wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her so that he was on his back with her half over him.  She laid her head over his chest and he took her hand in one of his, holding their intertwined hands over his chest.  She felt his hearts beating against her hand and the sound was very soothing.

"Are you mad at me?" he whispered into the darkness.

"No," she replied, "I'm not mad at you."

"You're mad at me."

"Doctor?"

"Mm?"

"You would _know_ if I was mad at you. I'm just happy I'm here."

"I'm happy you're here too," he said softly, "I missed you, Rose."

"I missed you too, Doctor." Without thinking, she leaned up and pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. She ignored the little gasp he let out and she buried her head in his chest again, her nose in his shirt.  

And for the first time since she'd been lost, they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	4. Chapter 4

When she woke up they were so tightly coiled around each other that she couldn't bear to think about how things had been when they were apart, even though it wasn't that long ago. He had turned towards her at some point during sleep and wrapped himself around her, knees drawing up and tangling his legs with hers.

 It was an odd thing, to be home, to hear the hum of the ship in the back of her head. It had been difficult to sleep without it, even though she hadn't realized she had grown so accustomed to it. Her first few nights in Pete's World had been absolute hell. The silence was stone cold and it made her sick to even think about it. She blew out her cheeks, her breath ruffling his hair. It was odd that he was here, too.

 She, of course, hadn't shared a bed with anyone. That wasn't for lack of trying with some of the boys around London. Or, Pete's London, more appropriately. The men at Torchwood had a bet to see who could get with the boss's daughter first, and she found out there was a lot of money in the pot. It was someone that was quite insulting to her, and she really wanted to be something more than that to someone. It was really not like the boys there were all about commitment, though. The dates she went on were unfulfilling and the men were boring, some of them didn't listen to her while she talked, and all she wanted was for someone to listen. And as much as the Doctor talked, he was quite a good listener as well. 

 She wasn't trying to be distracted, but it was the middle of the night and she was wrapped around the Doctor, as she had been when they'd come back from the Black Hole, Krop Tor, or the night after she lost her face. It wasn't fair, that he'd been alone this whole time, even though he'd had companions. It wasn't the same, and she could tell that, even though he never said anything about it, or at least, hadn't yet. Was he even going to? Or was he going to shut her down, like he always did. All it was, all it became, was the fact that he hid from her. That as close as he let her get, he would always shy away when things got too personal. And him, cuddled up to her like she was his favorite teddy bear, was personal. Almost heart wrenchingly so, and she knew that the moment he woke up he would spring out of bed and shoot out the door, blathering about the next adventure they were going to go on. But he wasn't awake yet, so she closed her eyes and pressed her nose into his hair, listening to his breathing, which was tickling her neck and making her feel the safest she had been since she'd been taken. 

 "Doctor?" She whispered, making sure that he wasn't awake.

 He snuffled a bit and shifted around, but he didn't alert. She smiled a little at the way he was when he slept, how gentle he was. Not that he wasn't usually gentle, of course, but this was completely different, and she couldn't pretend that things had changed, at least for her. Things were exactly the same.

 When he didn't reply after a couple minutes, she whispered, "I love you," to him, and let herself fall back asleep.

 To her own surprise, when she woke up and it was properly morning, the Doctor was still there. They weren't crammed as tightly together, but they were still quite close and she felt very warm and content. "Good morning," his voice was thick with sleep and rumbled pleasantly. She looked up at him and laid her head back down on his chest.

 "Hello," she replied, noting that her arm was loosely wrapped around his waist. She wasn't sure she'd ever been more comfortable and unwilling to get out of bed.

"Are you up for some adventuring today?" he asked, his fingers finding their way into her hair.  She hummed and rubbed her cheek up against his chest.  

"Yeah," She said, "In a minute."

"You still like to sleep in."

"I'll always like to sleep in," she said, "That's not ever going to change, Doctor."

He chuckled, "I guess I would be a little foolish to think that that part of you would change."

"You sure are," she agreed, a little sleepily.

"Donna will come fetch us if we're too late," he said softly, threading his fingers through her hair over and over.

"Okay, well then, let's get up."

Neither of them moved and Rose laughed. 

"Where are you going to take us, Doctor?" She purred, not necessarily hoping to seduce him, but certainly something close.  

His hand stopped and then started again, as though he'd been a little bit surprised by her actions.  "Ahh... In the future, I think."

"Sounds good.  Where?"

"Well, Rose, I've got to have at least one surprise up my sleeve, don't I?" he said teasingly, tickling her side.  She giggled and squirmed away from him. 

"Alright, alright, I'm awake," she sat up and looked down at him.  "I missed you," she blurted out without thinking.

He was watching her carefully, not saying a word.  "I missed you too," he said softly.  "Come on, let's go have some breakfast, shall we?"  

She nodded, scratching the back of her head, ruffling her hair up even more so than it had been before.  He smiled up at her and she furrowed her brows at him, confused.

"You alright?" she asked.

He paused for a moment and then nodded quite firmly to her.  "Yes.  I just... You're _here._ Rose, you're brilliant."

She blushed, quite against her own will, and she looked away from him. "I learn from the best, Doctor.  Wouldn't have been so inspired to learn all that stuff if it hadn't been for you." 

He sat up, bringing himself face to face with her, and smiled.  "Yeah, I suppose you're right. But you were brilliant enough to pick it up and keep going with it.  I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah?" She ruffled his hair, "I'm proud of me too," she kissed his nose and bounced off the bed and went to her chest of drawers, shuffling through for something to wear.  He sat in her bed, flabbergasted for a moment.

"Right, I'll just let you change then," he said, grinning at her, his cheeks looking rather warm.  He climbed out of her bed, looking ruffled and well rested. "Meet you in the galley?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."

He left the room, but not before she caught him out of the corner of her eye, looking at her for another long moment.  She smiled to herself. Maybe there was hope for a 'proper reunion' yet.  She realized she was a bit foolish for wishing for him to kiss her senseless the moment she came back. That wasn't how the Doctor operated, and it never had been.  So, it made no sense for anything to be different now.  

She threw on a pair of jeans and a t shirt, noting that both still fit her.  She'd missed her clothes. They hadn't felt the same in Pete's World, and she was sure that the Doctor had a whole explanation for that if she'd be willing to listen, but she didn't want to hear it.  She just wanted to enjoy that she was home.  

She put on a light hoodie and washed her face before applying some makeup to her face.  She got herself ready for the day (whatever that would hold) and headed to the galley. Donna was already there, and she wondered what was taking the Doctor so long.

"Good morning," Donna said, smiling over the cup of tea that she was nursing.  "How'd you sleep?"

"Great," she replied, smiling, "You?"

"Fine, yeah," Donna smirked, "And how did the Doctor sleep? I saw him coming out of your room a little earlier."

Rose blushed, despite the fact that nothing had happened.  "Well, I assume he slept alright. I mean, nothing- we didn't-"

"You _didn't?"_ Donna gaped at her. "No, how is that possible?  He's absolutely mad for you, Rose!"

"Yeah, well, obviously not," Rose said, trying not to be too upset. "Really, it's enough to just be with him, at any point.  I love him, that doesn't change because he doesn't do anything with me.  Even if... Even if I want-" She shook her head and laughed. "It's ridiculous of me."

"Not really, Rose," Donna said gently, "You came back.  You are allowed to want things," she rolled her eyes, "And if he doesn't give it to you, you have a right to be upset."  Donna leaned back in her chair and sipped her tea. 

Rose laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "Do you like eggs? I'm gonna rustle up some breakfast."

"Yeah," Donna nodded. "Thanks."

The two of them chatted, thankfully not about the Doctor, as Rose started making eggs and toast.  The Doctor came into the room a few minutes later, totally suited and booted. He jammed his hands in his pockets and was beaming the moment he passed over the threshold. 

"Rose Tyler, you don't cook!" he said, rocking back on his heels.

She grinned over her shoulder at him. "I do now," she said, "Couldn't eat takeaway every day, didn't have you to cook for me, I had to do something."

Now, Rose didn't know this, seeing as she was slaving away over the stove, but the Doctor was drawn, quite inexplicably, to wrap his arms around her waist from behind and rest his chin on her shoulder, and draw her close. There was something about seeing her smile at him like that again, and to be able to watch her actions over her shoulder like that would provide a sense of closeness that they had never had.  He'd never really held her that way before.  He wondered what it would feel like. 

Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), he didn't act on the thought. Oh, he swayed forward a bit, almost drawn in by her, but he stepped back and forced another smile before sitting across from Donna.  She shot him a look and he frowned at her, trying to figure out exactly what she was playing at, because, of course, she had to be playing at something.  

"So, where are we going?" Donna hinted.

"Oh, no, we're letting the TARDIS decide today," the Doctor said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "You can't get it out of me."

Rose looked over her shoulder at the back of the Doctor's head and arched an eyebrow at him, making Donna let out a rather unladylike snort. 

Rose brought over two plates and set them before Donna and the Doctor, a full breakfast laid out on them.  The Doctor looked up and offered her a smile.  She turned back to the stove and brought her own plate over, sitting next to the Doctor.  It had been her seat when she lived there, because they liked the closeness of sitting next to someone, and if she sat across from him, it took him longer to eat because he thought he always had to be talking. 

Finally, the mild tension that had settled between them dissipated and they chatted freely until their plates were all emptied.

"Well, Rose, seems that learning cooking served you well." Donna said, cleaning up the dishes. "I'll finish up here, you two go on to the console room."

"Thanks, Donna," Rose said, smiling at her new friend.  "Come on, then, Doctor, let's let the TARDIS pick."

She stood up and started heading for the door to the galley. Of course, the Doctor was right behind her, and he grabbed her hand, keeping her close to his side.  She smiled up at him, and he offered her one back, squeezing her hand tightly.  She loved that he was being  so close to her, even if wasn't quite the way that she wanted.  

"Well Rose Tyler.  Allons-y!"


	5. Chapter 5

The TARDIS landed with a crash that Rose was quite used to, but she hadn't had to deal with it for a long time, so she collapsed onto the grating, laughing.  The Doctor looked down at her and found himself laughing too. Donna watched them from where she sat, clutching the jump seat, and she smiled.  She'd never seen the Doctor this happy. This was who he was supposed to be with.  

The Doctor stood over Rose and reached his hands down for her. He pulled her to her feet, and she laughed, her shoulder brushing his for a moment. "Thanks," she said, looking up into his face. "Forgot how much I liked that."

Sensing a bit of tension that certainly wasn't going to get resolved, Donna sighed and got up off the jump seat, coming over to the door. "Let's go, then!  See what the TARDIS has shown us."

Rose grinned up at the Doctor and let go of his hands, running to the doors of the TARDIS.  Donna let her open them, and she looked out into the new world before her.  The sky was pink and the clouds were still fluffy white.  There was a beach along the left side of Rose's vision, and there was a city to the right, with hovercars travelling along it.  Rose smiled, looking at the beach with the golden waves crashing over the same gold sand.  

"Oh, Doctor, the _beach?"_

"What? No, no no," The Doctor ran out after her and peeked over her shoulder. "Oh, no, why?" he looked at the TARDIS. "Why did you do that to me?"

Donna smacked his arm. "Oi!  Sorry that your ship decided that we're going to have some fun today."

"Oh, we'll have to get changed for this," Rose said excitedly. "I wonder if I'll still fit into my old swimsuits," she chewed her bottom lip.

"I'm sure you'll look brilliant," he said without thinking, and then colored to the very tips of his ears. "Um.  I'm not.  You know what I mean, just..."

"Are you going to change too, Doctor?" Rose asked, looking up at him over her shoulder. 

He swallowed hard and didn't say anything, and it seemed that that was his plan as well.  

"Oh, let's just all go change. We're at the beach, for God's sake, I plan to enjoy it," she smiled. "All of us. Now, come on."

The Doctor wasn't really left with a choice then, and he blew out his cheeks before turning and going back into the TARDIS.  Rose and Donna followed, chattering excitedly to each other. They split off to their respective rooms and Rose started to look through all her swimsuits.  She started to feel self conscious. The Doctor had seen her in swim suits before, but things had changed since them.  She looked different, not in her weight, because she had done quite well keeping toned, but there were... Other things.  That he didn't know about. 

Because of that, she settled on a pink, one piece swimsuit with a floral sarong wrapped around her waist.  She twisted around, making sure everything was covered that she wanted to be, and slipped on a pair of flip flops. The TARDIS helpfully provided her with a beach bag for the rest of her supplies, and she sent a mental thank you before she walked back to the front of the console room again.  She didn't miss how the Doctor looked her over and instead of feeling the womanly pride she used to when he did that, she thought about all the things she was trying to hide and smiled tightly.  

"Let's go, yeah?" She said, trying to sound cheerful.  He had changed, which made her feel a little better. He had on blue trunks and a t-shirt and a pair of sandals that when Pete wore them, she called 'dad shoes'.  To her surprise, the thought didn't fill her with guilt and homesickness, but a pleasant feeling of remembrance.

Donna entered the room in a lavish fashion, wearing a one piece swimsuit and a shawl that would protect her delicate skin from the sun. 

"Well, since this lug has never taken me to a beach, I'd say it's time to go," Donna said, drawing her shades down over her eyes.

Rose giggled and looked up at the Doctor, who was watching her carefully, like he wanted to say something but was afraid to voice it. Instead, he just reached for her hand.  She slid her hand into his and laced their fingers together. 

"I don't think I knew that you had a one-piece swimsuit." 

"Well, you know, gotta have a couple secrets," she teased him as they exited the TARDIS. "How else would I surprise you?"

He laughed lightly and kept a tight grip on her hand as he led her towards where Donna was getting them beach chairs. 

"Where are we?" She asked softly.  "I missed you telling me about all these planets. Tell me about this place."

He smiled, "We are on Delta 275," he said softly, "Doesn't sound like a pleasure planet, but it is one. There's arcades and bars and nightclubs and... Well, really, it's a place that Jack would find tame." he wrinkled his nose, "Which means it's just perfect for you and me."

She smiled. "What else?"

"It was settled by humans shortly after the destruction of the Earth, and when they came, so did a bunch of other species, and they're all quite adaptable, so they started- ahem- mixing, and so out sprung the most fun group of people to grace the universe. At that moment in time, of course," they reached their spot and he looked at her.  "It really isn't a place I'd usually come, but since you and Donna want to stay, I think I'll make an exception."

Rose smiled widely, "Well, good, because I think we probably would have kicked and screamed until you let us," she said, setting down her bag on the chair. "Gonna come in the water, Donna?"

"Nah," Donna said from her beach chair, "I am here for the _sun."_

"And you, Doctor?" Rose put her hands on her hips and the Doctor found himself nodding before he really truly agreed.

"Sure, yeah, I'd love to," he said.  "The... Ocean."

"It's safe, isn't it?" She asked, cocking her eyebrow at him. She wasn't a stranger to the Doctor being weird, but the way he was shifting around would tell her that he didn't want to be with her at all, at least at the moment.

"Yes! Yes, of course it's safe, Rose, humans _live_ here, and you... You're human, and-"

She waved him off, feeling a little disappointed and _more_ than a little rejected.  "It's fine," she said, "You don't have to come with me if you don't want to. I know how you like to lay down at the beach and mope."

"Now, Rose, I'm not-"

"Catch up if you feel like it, Donna, 'kay?" Rose patted her new friend on the shoulder. 

"Sure," Donna smiled. "Go ahead, go have fun."

Rose walked to the water and was oblivious to the Doctor staring at her back, his mouth slightly open. 

"You're an arse," Donna said simply, taking her sunglasses off and tilting her head back to catch the sun.

"Excuse me?" The Doctor sat down heavily on the beach chair next to her. "That's not a very-"

"Well, I don't care if it's nice or not, I'm not nice, and you're being an arse."

"How so?" The Doctor demanded, sounding a little offended. 

Donna opened one eye and glared at him.  "You can't possibly be serious."

The Doctor glanced in Rose's direction -- just to make sure she was safe, of course -- and looked back at Donna.  "I am dreadfully serious, Donna, I haven't done anything."

"Exactly!  Rose is back!"

He blushed a little and averted his gaze, bringing a hand up to scratch the side of his jaw. "I... I know she's back."

"She wants to be with you!"

"She is with me."

"No, you plum.  She wants to _be_ with you." Donna said with almost painful emphasis, innuendo lacing through the phrase. 

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth. "Donna, that's not... It's not appropriate, for a Time Lord to-"

"Even if you love her?" Donna demanded. 

The Doctor clenched his jaw. "It doesn't matter what I want, that will never matter. What matters is that she can never see her family again, and that's all my fault."

"No, it's all _her_ fault, and it was her choice, so why don't you stop being like this and go snog her or at least play with her in the waves and come _on,_ Doctor, why are you passing up the chance to frolic around in the surf with a girl that you've been in love with for so long?"

He, for the second time, did not deny that he was he was in love with Rose.  "Donna.  I can't.  I didn't know that this was where the TARDIS would bring us, and I wish that it wasn't.  I wish we'd gone to someplace that was modern but made her _cover up._ Even if I've never seen that particular swimsuit, which makes me think...." He shrugged, "What else did I miss? What else about her is lost to me because I wasn't paying attention?  I can do that from here."

"What, just watch her like a creeper?" Donna snapped. "I'm going to keep grilling you until you go and have some fun for once in your life.  And she'd be disappointed if you didn't."

He looked down to where Rose was, standing up to her knees in the water, her sarong still firmly around her waist. He furrowed his brows. That was odd. Usually she would've taken it off.  He glanced at her legs.  They looked normal, brilliant, really. Why was she covering them up?

"Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"You gonna follow my advice or not?" Donna asked, or demanded, really, because Donna never really did just 'ask'.  

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "I can't snog her."

"Sure you could, and she would want you to.  But I'm talking about spending _time_ with her, Doctor.  You thought you lost her."  She looked over to the other girl, "And by the looks of it, you might be losing her again."

The Doctor's eyes snapped up to Rose, where a man had approached her (foreign, of course) and was trying to chat her up. Rose's arms were crossed over her chest and it was quite clear that she wasn't interested, but this man looked to be the... Persuasive type.  He clenched his jaw again and got to his feet before he was even thinking about it.

His hands were clenched at his sides, and he walked to where she stood, sliding his hand around her arm and drawing her close to him.

"Hello," the Doctor said, feigning cheerfulness. 

The man's easy smile fell right off his face at the sight of the Doctor's hand on Rose and her doing nothing to fight him off.  "Oh.  I've got to go." 

"Yes, you do," the Doctor said.  He looked at Rose, who was staring, no, gawking at him, with a surprised expression written in her whole body language. 

Rose looked down at his hand on her arm. "Doctor?" She whispered.

"Yes?" 

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I just... I couldn't.. I-" he stopped, trying to figure out how he had skipped right up to her and all but stomped his feet and bared his teeth at the man who had approached her.  "I don't know."

She smiled softly, realizing what was going on, even if he couldn't admit it.  "Oh, you know, Doctor, since you're here, you could hang out with me up here, what do you think?"

His hand was still on her arm, and she hadn't ripped him from her, and so he stared at her and stared at her until she realized he wasn't going to speak.

"Doctor."

"I'm sorry, I should go sit with Donna, she'll be lonely," he stuttered to himself, and let go of her arm.  She reached out and grabbed his hand. 

"But... I'll be lonely then," she said, "And since I'm not allowed to hang out with anyone else on this beach, it would be great if you stayed with me."

He got sucked right into her eyes, like he always did, like he always had. He smiled and stepped closer to her. 

"Okay."

And for once, things were going right.

But of course, for the Doctor and Rose, those things or times only last moments.


	6. Chapter 6

He didn't mean to play in the waves with Rose.  That wasn't his intention at all, actually.  But she'd drawn him in, taken his hand, and well, he was lost, really.  She kept adjusting her sarong, though, which made him watch her carefully, wondering what was going on inside her head.  She'd had her ideas of modest already, but he had never seen her cover herself up while at a beach or the pool.  He'd usually seen her in bikinis and this was something completely different.  It almost made him relish the times that he had seen her so carefree. 

She was pretending.  

She got him out into the waves with her, and she tried to carry on a conversation with him, but of course, he had to let his mouth get away from him.

"Are you happy?"

She brushed a wet piece of hair out of her face as a wave lapped at her side.  "Course I'm happy.  Why would you ask that?"

He shook his head. "I don't want you to think that I don't want you here."

"Of course I know you want me here," She said, and smiled fondly at him. "You're just weird."

He smiled back at her, unable to turn away from such a true statement, and unable to turn away from her.  "Yeah, I guess I am."

She laughed at his admission and dolphin dived into the waves, making him lose track of her entirely.  He dove in after her, hoping to catch her, because he didn't let himself touch her, not aside from holding her hand (and occasionally holding her hand, but that was alright) and maybe play fighting in the ocean could be seen as a good excuse.  

He caught her by the ankle but she pulled away so quickly it shocked him.  He stood up in the waves, running his hands through his hair, keeping it back.  She appeared behind him, jumping piggy-back onto him.  He caught her on instinct more than anything else, wanting to keep her safe even in a situation that wasn't dangerous, because she was Rose Tyler and Rose Tyler deserved safety at any cost.  

She leaned over his shoulder. "What are we gonna do for dinner?" She asked, _directly_ into his ear, and _Rassilon,_ didn't she know how distracting that was?

"I'm sure there's a restaurant somewhere around here," he said, trying to tilt his head to look at her, but she was far too close to him for any of that.  

"Like what?"

"I don't _know,_ we'll have Donna look."

She giggled, far too close to his ear, and squeezed him around the neck before slipping off his back to the ground, landing with a gentle 'splash' in the waves. 

"Tell you what."

"What?" He turned around and looked at her. 

"You can make it up to me this time, you can buy _me_ chips."

He laughed, and nodded in agreement, "Sure," he said, "Yeah, I'll buy you chips."

She crossed her arms over her chest, and he tried not to stare.  "Very good."

A few hours later, they went back to the beach, and Donna was still sunbathing.  Rose sat down on the beach chair next to hers and wrapped herself up in a towel, drying off.  The Doctor shook Donna awake, as the sun had made her drift off.

"We off then?" Donna asked. 

"Yeah, pretty soon," The Doctor said, "We'll all go out, get something to eat."

"Well, I'm going to have to get a shower back at the TARDIS first and get _dressed_ for dinner."

The Doctor was opening his mouth to protest when Rose spoke.

"Yeah, me too, actually," She curled into herself a little more.  "All the salt's gonna dry my skin out."

He nodded, then, "Yeah, okay, go ahead, do what you need to."

She smiled and started gathering up their things, which prompted the rest of them to follow along.  They all trudged back to the TARDIS, Donna and Rose striking up a light conversation while the Doctor just listened and marveled at the fact that he was listening to Rose Tyler's voice. He looked over at her, as she walked between the both of them.  He reached over and took her hand, and she smiled up at him. 

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair, as Rose and Donna threw on sundresses and the Doctor stared into space for about a half hour before getting dressed.  And after dinner, a hearty helping of chips all around, they came home, and the Doctor sent them into the Vortex. 

"Well, I don't know how a day of relaxing can take it out of you, but I'm exhausted."  Donna said, "I'll see you both in the morning."

The Doctor put his glasses on and looked up at the time rotor. "Time is relative, Donna." 

Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, sod off.  Goodnight, Rose."

Rose smiled from her spot on the jump seat. "Goodnight, Donna."

They stayed silent after Donna left for a few minutes, and finally, Rose sighed and stood up.  "Well, I'm gonna head off too," She came up to stand next to him. 

He looked down at her. "Alright."

"If you find yourself feeling, I dunno... Lonely, or tired, you could come... Cuddle. Like before."

She seemed so uncertain and he really didn't want her to feel so uncertain.  He smiled and nodded. "Alright."

She swayed forward and he took her into his arms for a hug, pressing his cheek up against the top of her head.  "Goodnight, Rose."

"Goodnight."  She gave him one final squeeze before disappearing off down the corridor.

He waited for a couple of hours, and that was really the longest he could wait.  He breathed out a sigh of resignation and went to his own room, changed into his jim jams, and went in search of Rose's room. 

He almost talked himself out of it about seven times, by his own count, but soon enough, he was standing in front of her door and couldn't bring himself to turn back. He raised his hand to knock and then lowered it again.  Just because she had offered didn't mean she had done so for _her_ benefit.  Maybe she hadn't wanted him there, like she had before.  Maybe things were different. 

He scolded himself: of _course_ things were different, he was quite foolish to think that they would be the same.  But he knew he still cared for Rose, and he knew that Rose still cared for him, and sometimes he could pretend that that was all that mattered. 

Finally, before he could convince himself otherwise, he knocked firmly on the door. The groggy voice from inside called out, "Come in."  

He entered slowly and Rose sat up, smiling.  "You're here," she said, her hair a messy golden halo around her head. 

"Yeah." The Doctor replied, feeling a little uncertian. "Is that alright?"

"Of course it's alright, I invited you in here, didn't I?" She grinned.  "Come on, I'd like to get some sleep, you know."

"Right."  He walked awkwardly to her bedside, which was a bit foolish considering that he had been here just the night before.  But last night it had been because she was _back,_ and he needed that reassurance.  Tonight, it was an invitation, and a choice.  He lifted the covers and got under them, lying stiffly on his back.

Rose, for her part, assumed that something like this would happen, that he would get awkward. That was really the Doctor's specialty.  She rolled over to face him, watching his eyes glint through the darkness.  He was not even close to tired, she could tell. 

"Are you alright?"

"I'm just fine."

"Did you... Did you enjoy yourself, today?" She asked, a little unsure. 

The Doctor turned to look at her, surprise evident on his features. "Yes," he said firmly, "I always enjoy myself when I get to be with you."

She smiled weakly. "I dunno, you just seemed a little... I don't know..."

"Yes, you do, what do you want to say?"

"You seemed like you didn't want me there today," she said, "Like you would've been happier if it was just you."

"No, that is _not_ true," the Doctor said fiercely, "I would much rather be with you than be alone."

"You wouldn't be alone, though, you'd have Donna," she reminded him.  "Doesn't she-"

"She's not you, Rose," the Doctor said quietly. "Donna is one of the best mates I've had and I'm grateful for her, but... You're you."

She smiled, still feeling like he wasn't telling her the whole truth, and scooted closer to him.  "Yep. I'm me."  She wrapped an arm around his waist and he held her close without a moment's hesitation, even though he was certain that there probably should have been some hesitation there.  

Rose threw her leg over his and settled in, and the Doctor knew that she probably wouldn't be moving for the rest of the night.

_CRASH._

Something startled them awake. They'd been wrapped up in each other again, and it took the Doctor a few moments to disentangle his hand from her hair before springing to his feet. He extended a hand to her and pulled her out of the bed before taking off down the hallway. Rose followed, catching Donna along the way, who looked just as surprised as Rose imagined she did. 

"What happened?" Donna called as she tied her dressing gown tie around her waist.

"I don't know yet!" The Doctor shouted over his shoulder, "We'll find out in a few minutes."

Rose didn't say anything, just ran until they made it to the console room. The Doctor looked up at the time rotor. It had gone quiet, like they had landed, but maybe that wasn't the case.  He circled the console, pressing buttons and switching levers. 

"What-?" Donna began.

"We've crashed," The Doctor said, brows furrowed.  "But... We.. How did-?"

"The TARDIS doesn't typically crash while in the Vortex," Rose whispered to Donna as the Doctor continued to look flustered.  "So something must have pulled us.  Usually, people just send him messages on the-"

"-Psychic paper," Donna said, nodding.  "But who would just pull us?"

Rose shrugged. "I don't know."

"Oh, good," Donna said sarcastically, "I love the unknown."

Rose chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest. "What have you got, Doctor?"

"We've crashed."

"You know, I had a feeling," Donna said, putting her hands on her hips.  

The Doctor scratched the side of his neck and tugged his ear. "Yes, well, you know, that problem seems to be that the TARDIS has shut down to heal, so I don't know why we're here.  Or where we are, exactly."

"So I say we get dressed and go out there," Rose said firmly, as though there was no room for argument.  But if there was one thing that the Doctor was good at, it was arguing.

"Rose, we don't know what happened here," he scolded her. 

"No, we don't."

"We don't know who's taken us here.  Or where we are."

"Right."

"It could be dangerous for you and Donna. I don't want-"

"Oi! Alien boy! This whole life is dangerous, so you might as well let us help out."  Donna said, effectively cutting the Doctor off and shutting his mouth.  

"Right," the Doctor said. "Well, we'd all better get dressed, bring a sweater." 

Rose laughed at his tone.  Donna rolled her eyes. 

The three of them dispersed, and Rose found herself dressing rather quickly. She had a feeling that this was the way the Doctor had planned to be.  He was going to keep taking her to pleasure planets, and trying to make her feel safe, but he wasn't planning on taking her on any adventures.  That stops now, she thought to herself.  She pulled on her jeans and trainers, before throwing on a vest top and jumper.  Close enough to a sweater, then.  

When she went back out to the console room, Donna wasn't there yet, but the Doctor was, standing nervously in his brown suit, cracking knuckles.  She went over to him and grabbed his hand. 

"Don't do that," She said softly. She looked up at him and saw his eyes bugging out at her.  "You're nervous."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't want to lose you." He admitted timidly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed, waiting just a moment before his hands settled on her waist.  

"You're not gonna lose me.  Got it?"

"Got it," he whispered into her hair before releasing her.  

Donna arrived, and the Doctor did the only thing he knew to do before leading them into danger. 

He took Rose's hand.


	7. Chapter 7

When they exited the TARDIS, Rose looked around at their surroundings.  It was a normal looking planet, she supposed, they were clearly in a city.  But it was nighttime, and dreadfully quiet.  The lights were all on, but there were no cars driving. 

"The lights are on, but nobody's home," Rose whispered, her brow furrowing.

"Where are we?" Donna asked.  

The Doctor shook his head, then glanced around. "I'm not sure yet," he said, squinting.  "Could be a bunch of places, just based on this alone.  Let's look around."

"Okay," Rose said, and tugged his hand. "Let's go."

"Now, Rose, we can't just go gallivanting in-"

"We did before!" She hadn't meant to shout, but it had come out as a shout, and she let her shoulders sag.  "I'm sorry.  Just- Can't we just go look around without you wondering about how safe it is? What happened to you?"

He let go of her hand and walked briskly away from her, hands shoved in his pockets, looking around like it was his sole focus in life. 

Rose crossed her arms and scowled, "What's wrong with him?  Why can't he just be normal?"

"Because you're here," Donna said quietly.

Rose shot her a look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you make him nervous," she whispered in return, not wanting the Doctor to hear them, what with his super superior sense of hearing and all that.  

Rose rolled her eyes. "That man fights Daleks and Cybermen and all kinds of dangerous human beings, but-"

"But one Rose Tyler brings him to his knees," Donna replied sternly. "Rose, he cares about you more than he cares about himself.  He's scared.  That man talked about you like you were invincible, but now that you're here, he remembers that you're not."

It took Rose a moment, but she realized, with the attitude of the Doctor's authoritative yet stiff stance, that Donna might just be right.  She breathed out a sigh and let her shoulders slump., 

"I thought things would be different."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought he'd talk to me," she admitted, feeling her eyes brimming with tears but keeping them back so she could keep a wary eye on her surroundings.  "I thought that he would be more open with me.  I thought he'd touch me more."  She inhaled deeply, blinking rapidly to try and keep everything at bay for as long as possible. "I couldn't sworn that he would kiss me."

Donna felt her heart break for Rose. She knew what it was like to love someone that didn't love you, but she knew this was different. This was the Doctor refusing to love Rose because he was so afraid of losing her.  That was worse, because Rose would be forever longing for a man who longed for her.  Why would they let themselves be so unhappy when they loved each other so honestly and purely.  

She put her arm around the younger girl.  "You know he's mental," she said softly, "You _know_ that about him. This is him being entirely ridiculous."

"But if there's one thing the Doctor doesn't do, it's change," she said softly, "Even when he changes."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that even when things change about him, or he... He'll just pretend that he doesn't feel anything.  And he's doing it with me, I can _tell._  Or maybe I was just wrong to begin with.  Maybe he never felt anything for me at all, and I read into it so much that I just disappointed myself." She shook her head. "I never should have come back."

"Don't say that! He's thrilled you're back, Rose, hasn't he been cuddling in bed with you at night?"  As much as this was a topic Donna didn't want to _think_ about, much less talk about, she could sense that Rose needed to and she was willing to give her that.

"That doesn't mean anything!" She said, "We did that before I was lost.  I'm surprised he hasn't admitted to doing it with other companions."

"Well, he hasn't done it with me."

"You're his best mate."

"So are you, Rose."

She looked at the Doctor, who was walking farther away from them, across the street.  He seemed to be going quite slowly, just to give her room to follow.  She clenched her jaw. There had been a time when she believed that he was her best friend. There was a time when she would believe that he loved her just as much as she loved him. But that would never be the case, and she knew that, and it was about time that she let it go. 

She sighed.  "No.  Not anymore. Come on, he's gonna leave without us."

"He'll never leave without you," Donna said firmly, and she started to follow the Doctor. Rose hesitated but then started to follow as well, feeling like a spoiled child, but also feeling quite validated in her opinions. 

"But he would," she whispered quietly before following after them a bit regretfully.  

The Doctor seemed to sense them coming and turned around, looking at the both of them approaching him.  He sniffed audibly and looked away. Still pouting then.  He pointed towards a building that was a ways away from them, but certainly reachable. It was nice and tall, and she could find it very easy to think that yes, they could find their way there. 

"There," he said, "That's where we're headed."

"Why?" Donna asked, furrowing her brows, "Looks like any other regular old building to me," she said. 

"Because I said so," the Doctor said, grinning at her, but it sounded quite fake, and felt fake, and Rose felt her heart plummet and steel at the same time.  He couldn't be like this, this wasn't allowed.  He was supposed to be the strong one.

She had an option, of course, to throw a temper tantrum of her own, and storm off to the TARDIS, where it was, admittedly, nice and safe. She could yell at him some more, she could slap him, and he would let her, because he had always let her get her emotions out, but she had never laid a hand on him, and he had never laid a hand on her, because of course, they respected each other too much. 

But she knew that if she wanted to, she could be the woman to break the Doctor. 

And that was one woman that she never wanted to be. 

So she stayed quiet, and the three of them walked towards the building, trudging along a pristine sidewalk. Why was it so _clean?_ It was empty around them, and yet everything was clean.  She eyed the garbage free walk and hoped to come across something that would seem normal, a cigarette butt or a wrapper. 

But nothing.  So she shook her head, trying to tell herself that maybe this was a different sort of planet than she was used to. She crossed her arms over her chest, her knuckles brushing against the roughness of her jumper and feeling it almost painfully. 

"What do you think we're gonna find?" Donna asked. 

"People, if we're lucky," he said over his shoulder. "But I'm not trying to draw lots of attention to us, thanks, so maybe we should have a bit of hush."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, now, you're just annoying me."

"Well, thank you, I do my best."

But they walked in silence, like he asked, but that was even more eerie, as Rose could hear every footfall on the pavement, and her mind told her that there were more feet than there actually were and she shivered whenever she thought she heard someone behind her or felt someone breathing down her neck. 

Donna turned around and looked at her several times, just to make sure she was alright. She nodded, trying to get Rose to come up to the front with her.  Rose shook her head.  She had always taken the back in Torchwood missions, it had made her feel safe.  She had always wanted to be the one at risk, so she could never feel guilty for someone else's death. And so far, it had worked rather well. But she wasn't sure she'd ever been so paranoid by a mission.  Maybe because this wasn't a proper mission, and there wasn't something _specific_ that she _had_ to do.  She blew out her cheeks and shivered, despite her best intentions not to. 

They finally reached the building, and Rose saw at first glance that it was a hotel. She squinted up at it and frowned  little.  Why would the Doctor bring them here?  But there he was going, already through the front doors of the building.  

There were people inside, but it was just as quiet inside as it had been outside.  Rose suddenly felt very self conscious as the eyes of the people (humanoid and otherwise) bored into her skin.  Why were they staring?

"Hello," The Doctor said, rocking back on his heels.  "What's going on here?  Why's everyone so quiet?"

"Shhh.." The woman at the front desk looked around with fearful eyes, her pale hair pulled back from her equally pale face.  Her green eyes were incredibly striking.  "Don't. He'll find us talking. He doesn't like when we talk."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes, but he approached the woman at the desk, and so Rose and Donna followed, not sure what else to do.  He leaned on the desk. 

"Who's he?" The Doctor whispered, not sure what to do, but knowing that him keeping quiet would make all of them feel a little better.  

" _He,"_ The woman said, "The King."

Donna furrowed her brows.  "He doesn't want any of you to talk?  I think you mean dictator, then."  She crossed her arms, mirroring the stance that Rose had developed.  

"Shhhhh!!!!" The woman at the front desk was growing increasingly panicked, her hands shaking, bony finger pressed to her lips.  "He has eyes and ears everywhere, you can't stop him, you _can't._ So shut. Up.  Please."

The Doctor was very bad at shutting up, but he sure tried for a little while.  He looked around at the looks of fear on everyone's faces.  They all stared at him, silently begging him not to speak. There was something going on, he could sense it. He looked back at Rose. She wasn't watching him attentively, as she had on their past adventures.  She was looking at the people. 

He knew that he had to admit that this was not the same Rose Tyler he had lost. She was the same of course, the same woman, but she was stronger, independent.  She was not a girl. She was a _woman._  He swallowed. Honestly, it would do him better not to notice things like that, but it was quite difficult not to.  She was remarkable, and beautiful, and if he allowed himself, he would tell her just how much she meant to him. 

It was really a shame that he was a coward. 

He blew out his cheeks and turned back to the front desk.  He opened his mouth to say something, and a bell was rung, like one of those as the front desk of any hotel. 

Except no one had touched the one here. 

Footsteps sounded down the stairs, and Rose felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle. Donna moved to be in a less visible position (because Donna was quite clever even if no one ever really gave her credit for it) but Rose was frozen to the spot.  

The Doctor forgot their fight and approached her, prying her hands away from her arms to grab her hand in his. She didn't look at him but she let him hold her hand. Though she was surprised, she was aware that now was not the best time to dwell on such things.  

The footsteps continued, and a man in a sharp suit descended, his hair bleach blond and obviously from a bottle.  He had a wicked grin already lighting his face and his hands were pushed in his pockets. 

"No," The Doctor whispered under his breath, gripping Rose's hand tighter.  " _No,_ this isn't possible, you're _dead."_

The man twitched.  "Oh, Doctor aren't you happy to see me?"

Rose turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, who is this guy?"

"Ohh, isn't she lovely," the man said, eyeing Rose.  "You didn't have her last time, mate."

"How are you alive?"

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" The man cocked his head.  "Hello, companion of the Doctor's.  I'm the Master."


	8. Chapter 8

Rose, of course, hadn't been there for the whole year that never happened.  She furrowed her brows. "So what?  Master of what?"

"Rose, no."

"No, I wanna know who this guy thinks he is," Rose said, though she didn't relent her grip on his hand.

"Oh, she's _adorable,_ Doctor, where did you pick this one up?" The Master asked, grinning a bit madly.  But it wasn't like the Doctor's grin, all manic curiosity. This grin was _evil._ Pure and simple.  She swallowed hard, wondering if she should've stopped herself. 

Donna was busy making herself appear invisible. If the Doctor and Rose got captured, someone was going to have to stay behind, she knew that.  She wasn't going to try and be a hero and end up not being able to protect her friends.  So she sat silently.

"And her name is Rose.  Aw," The Master made a pouty sort of baby face at Rose. "I heard about her.  Looked you up, Doctor, I do my research.  She's the one you lost.  How did you find her?"

Rose looked to the Doctor, who wasn't saying anything.  His jaw was clenched and his hand was clenched around hers, making it almost impossible for her to move away from him.  She flexed her fingers, trying to tell them that they hurt, but he didn't relent. 

"Doctor?" She whispered.  

"Your little sweet angel wants your attention, Doctor, why don't you give it to her?" The Master taunted. 

"Shut up and just tell me what you're doing here," the Doctor said, through gritted teeth. Rose looked down and saw her fingers turning white. 

The Master tutted.  "What do you think, Doctor? I'm trying to rule the world! And since you wouldn't let me have Earth, I had to find another one, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't?"

"Well, yes I did.  How else can I exist?"

"How _are_ you existing?" The Doctor snapped.

Rose whimpered in pain.  "Doctor, you're hurting me."

He released her hand like she'd burned him and allowed himself to stare in shock at his palm.  She brought her shaky palm up to look at it and flexed her fingers, feeling the pain fade away.  

"Well, you've broken curfew, the two of you.  There was just two of you, correct?"

"Yes," Rose said quickly, not wanting to put Donna in any danger.  "Why the hell would we bring anyone else? I just got back."

The Master raised his eyebrows. "Oh, look at you, this feisty beast.  You know, my old wife, Lucy, you remember Lucy? She betrayed me a little bit.  Might need a new wife."

"Don't you touch her!" The Doctor said, his voice raised but still somewhat controlled. 

"Oh, but you can't touch her either, can you, you've just hurt her poor little hand," the Master said, a little scathingly.  "How strange. She might _want_ to be my wife after this."

"No," Rose said, furrowing her brows. "I don't belong to anybody," she was firm.  

The Master smiled and crossed his arms, staring at the both of them. "Well, I'm going to have to take you to my dungeon, maybe torture the little one. Come on, then."

"Hang on," the Doctor held up his hand.  "That's a bit ridiculous.  There's nothing to say that there was a curfew.  You can't punish us for that."

"Yes I can," the Master grinned. "I have _guards."_

"Who-"

"Doesn't matter," the Master said, "What matters is that I have people."

Rose opened and closed her mouth, wanting to say something, but not being able to manage it.  She wasn't sure where it would get her, after all, and she wasn't sure if this man was kidding about making her his wife.  She wasn't sure if that was a chance that she wanted to take, really.  She wanted to hold the Doctor's hand again, but he had practically crunched all her fingers already and she could still feel pain throbbing through them. She looked down at them again. 

"I hope you didn't break any bones on her, Doctor," the Master said, "You don't get any medical treatment in the dungeon."

"The dungeon.  That's a little mellow dramatic, isn't it?"

"You like it."

" _No,_ I really don't, I want you to tell us what's going on."

"Oh, in good time," The Master waved him off. "Guards!  We've got two new prisoners!"

Two men came out from a stairwell, like they'd been waiting.  The first thing they noticed was that they had clear purple helmets on that were filled with some sort of thick, gelatinous substance that sloshed around. She furrowed her brows at their glazed-over eyes and cried out in pain when one of the guards grabbed her arms, the fingers biting into her skin and bruising.   

"Take them to the dungeon," The Master said, and Rose almost laughed with how foolish it sounded.  But this was very real and she had no reason to laugh.  The guards dragged them along and the Master followed behind, whistling a carefree tune that made Rose feel physically sick. 

After they went down a set of stairs, they found that there was a legitimate dungeon in the basement of the hotel, probably built up by the Master.  It was grungy and disgusting and the bars on the cells looked like they would cut into Rose's hands like paper.  There were three cells, all large, and so when Rose and the Doctor were thrown into separate cells, they stayed down for a moment.  Rose a moment longer, as she hit her head.  

"You will wait here," one of the guards said.

"What's on your head?" Rose asked, sitting up.

"The human is not permitted to ask questions until the King tells us that she can," the guard said, his eyes still blank and staring forward as though he couldn't even see her.  She frowned at that. Something was really, _really_ wrong here.  

"Oh. Is the Time Lord allowed?" The Doctor asked, cocking a brow.

"No."

"Well, it was worth a shot."

The Master grinned at the both of them. "I seem to recall having the Doctor in a cage once before.  Deja-vu, isn't it?"

The Doctor didn't answer, just stared at the Master, his stare level and stone cold. He clenched his jaw in anger.  

"Aren't you usually a talker? Or does this little wonder do the talking for you?" The Master teased.

"Leave her alone."

The Master rolled his eyes, feeling a little annoyed that no one was talking to him, because if there was one thing that the Master loved, it was attention.  

"Oh, well, we'll see if either of you feel like having a chat in the morning. The two of you are so boring. It's no wonder Martha left you, Doctor."

"We weren't-"

"Oh, I know, and she sure did too, you made sure of that," the Master laughed.  "This the one you were pining after then?" He wrinkled his nose at Rose.  "She's pretty, yeah, but... There are better."

"That's _enough."_

"Whoa, are you getting feisty with me? You, in the cell?" He laughed. "Rich, my dear Doctor. I'll talk to you both in the morning, see if you're more willing to speak.  How's that sound?" He looked back at his guards and sighed when they didn't say anything. "Oh, never mind.  I think it's about time I turned in."

The guards locked them in and turned and left, the Master in front of them, a dreadfully annoying spring in his step. The moment they were gone, Rose hastily turned to the tiny window that was above the equally tiny bed in her cell.  She tried to climb on top of it and try to get out of the window, but her hand hurt and it was sealed tight anyway. 

"Rose, don't."

"Why not?  We've got to get out!"

"He'll kill you, Rose."

Rose winced when she tried to touch the window and her fingers throbbed.  She got down off the bed and sat heavily on it.  She settled her injured hand in the other one and stared at it. "How do you know him?" she asked softly. 

The Doctor sighed and jammed his hands into his pockets.  It was a long story, but for the first time in his life, he told her everything.  He told her about the Year that Never Was, and what the Master did to him, and how they had been friends.  It felt like he look forever, and the Doctor wished that he had never brought Rose here. They should have run away.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," she said softly, "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"It's hardly your fault, Rose," he said, trying not to be sharp about it. 

She blew out a sigh.  "I'm sorry I wasn't here.  But it sounds that Martha was quite helpful."

He paused for a moment.  "She's not you."

"She doesn't have to be," she whispered.

"Nobody is you, Rose.  I missed you during that time too, alright?" he said, as though he was trying to convince her of it.  "I missed you _desperately,_ but I'm not sorry that you didn't see me like that."

She didn't say anything, mostly because she didn't know what to say. She had missed him too, and whether or not it was an appropriate emotion, she felt a bit jealous of Martha.  She breathed out a long sigh.  This wasn't fair. She should've never come back.  He didn't really want her here.  She wanted to be here, but he didn't want her here. He wanted to hold her and that was it.  He didn't want what Rose wanted.  She was going to have to get used to that.  

"Rose?" He asked timidly.  

She looked up from her hand and to him, or rather, the back of his head. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he said softly, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay," she replied, "You didn't mean to, like you said."

"I can fix it, if you want to come over to the bars separating us.  If you don't, I would understand."

"No, I'm... It's fine," she said, standing and walking to the bars that were between them.  She put her hand through the bars and tried to search his eyes, although he would not look at her. She watched as he tenderly took her hand in his left one, and pulled out the sonic from his inside pocket.  He scanned her hand, quiet, the only sound the warbling of the sonic screwdriver. 

"Bruising," he whispered.  "Slight on the knuckles and the webs of the fingers."

His head was bowed and it was hard for her to see his expression, but the tear that dropped onto her skin told her enough.  

"Doctor," She reached through the bars with her other hand and cupped his cheek as he sorted out her hand. She winced a little bit.  "It's alright," She said, "it's not your fault."

"It's _exactly_ my fault, I _did_ that to you," he said, trying to control himself.  

Rose stroked her thumb over his cheek. "Please don't feel bad," she said softly, "Please.  You've got enough to think about, what with all this Master stuff.  It's not your fault, not at all."

He let out a shaky breath, the heat of it brushing her knuckles.  "You don't understand. I promised I would never hurt you.  I _promised,_ and here we are, and I hurt you."  He stroked his thumb over her knuckles.  "I can't believe I hurt you."

"I forgive you," She said, trying to force him to look at her, but he wasn't having any of it, too busy wallowing in self pity, which was something that the Doctor was quite good at.  He brought her hand up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it.  

"I'm _sorry,_ Rose."

He released her and she pulled back, sensing that that was all that he was willing to give for now.  Maybe ever, now that he thought that he hurt her.   She turned back to the bed and sat down again, ignoring the Doctor because that seemed to be what he wanted.  If he wanted to talk to her any more, he could, but she had a feeling that he just needed to have a think for awhile, and that was alright, really.

She smiled a little to herself. It looked like Donna Noble was going to be their savior.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid some of you might think that I spent too much time on how the Doctor broods about Rose's hand, but to me, I think anything that causes Rose pain makes the Doctor brood :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Rose and the Doctor sat at a standstill for quite some time, neither one of them talking to the other. Rose was sitting on the bed, holding her hands together in her lap, squeezing her own fingers, afraid she was going to do something stupid and talk or something.

She glanced over at him. He was standing still, his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up, hands in his pockets and staring blankly out in front of him.  She hadn't seen him like this in a long time.  She was also a little alarmed that her eyes were drawn to his forearm while he was so obviously distressed.  It was plain that he was just thinking about the fact that he was angry he had hurt her.

"Doctor?" she said softly, trying to get to him.  Her voice seemed to shatter exactly everything in his mind and he turned to look at her, a very sad expression on his face. 

"Yeah?" His voice sounded rough and she almost wept with how sad he _looked._

She wanted to stand and go to him, but she had a feeling that wouldn't be what he wanted.  He seemed to shrink from her.  

"My hand doesn't hurt, Doctor."

"That's... That's good, Rose."

"What time is it?"

"One O' clock, your time and here."

"We've really been sitting here for that long?" Rose asked, raising her brows at him. 

He nodded a little weakly. "Yes, we have," he said softly.  "You should probably go to sleep."

She snorted, "Not with that man in here."

"He's not in here.  I won't sleep, I'll..." he snapped his jaw shut and she felt her heart practically burst.  She knew what he was going to say.  ' _I'll keep you safe.'_ It was his line for her, really, probably for every companion.  She would have said that any other man was overreacting, but not the Doctor.  After the Time War, she knew he never wanted to hurt anyone and every time he did it almost made him a broken man. 

She looked down at her hand.  To him it was more than a bruised hand that he had been able to fix.  It was the fact that he had caused her any pain at all that caused _him_ pain.  She bit her lip and tried very desperately not to cry.  He didn't deserve to live in that kind of pain.  She loved him so much, she just wanted him to be happy.

*****

Rose didn't know that she was right on the button. The Doctor had been thinking pretty much endlessly about his actions. He had been so angry and shocked to see the Master again that he had almost crushed her hand. The hand he had held for so long. That wasn't fair.  How could he have done that to her? 

She thought it was just mild bruising, he was sure, but it wasn't.  What he had done to her hand had crushed some of her nerves, bruised the muscles and bone.  He didn't know what made her so strong to withstand it, but it absolutely crushed his hearts that he had marred her with his hand. 

If Donna had been there, she would have rolled her eyes quite hard. She knew the Doctor was being ridiculous, and she knew that Rose was being too timid.  The Doctor could have thought that as well, but he would never think ill of Rose.  He thought of her, perhaps, a bit higher than he should.  He almost viewed her on a level above his own and he wans't sure what to make of that.

He looked at her now, hearing her rustling around.  She was getting on top of the cot/bed that was in her cell, not daring to go under the covers.  He felt his hearts go out to her. SHe would be cold eiwthout some sort of covering. He looked over his shoulder and picked up his trench coat before pushing it through the bars. 

It took Rose a moment to see it, since he wasn't speaking or doing anything that would indicate that he had something for her, but when she saw it she got up and came over to him, her eyes shining.  She was always the best to have in a situation like this, always smiling, because they were _together,_ and that was all that mattered.  

"Are you sure?" she said, "I don't want you to be cold."

"Superior physiology," he said dismissively, "Don't worry about me."

She took the coat from him, mostly because she knew that he would insist if she didn't.  "It's my job to worry about you," she told him, tongue in teeth.  Somehow, he managed to smile back at her.  He wasn't sure why, but his suspicion was that it was because it was Rose Tyler and anytime she smiled it was nearly impossible to not smile back. Unless, of course, one's life would depend on not smiling.  And even then, he wasn't sure that he would be able to manage it.

He had expected her to put the coat over her like a blanket, but instead, she slid her arms in the holes and wrapped it around herself before cuddling onto the bed, her head on the pillow and knees brought up to her chest. She had been more tired than she was letting on.  

"Goodnight, Doctor," she whispered.

He closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Rose."

"You'll wake me if something happens, won't you?  I don't want you to do this without me."

He realized that he didn't want to do it without her, whether or not it was an option. He wished he could hold her, like they had before.  Unfortunately, there was no way into her cell and she obviously wasn't going to be getting out.  

"Yes," he promised, realizing it was a promise that he could very easily keep. "Yeah, I promise, I'll wake you up."

"Good.  You're a right sodding bastard when it comes to being stubborn, you know that?"

He smiled to himself at her cheek, even as her South London accent drifted out through the words. He wondered if she had been making her accent posh on purpose because of the role that she had to play in Pete's world.  He frowned to himself.  That wasn't fair.  She was perfect the way she was, she should never have to be like that, pretend to be somebody else.  

"Yeah," he said softly, "I know."

*****  
Donna, on the other hand, was not having emotion heart to heart talks with anybody in a jail cell. She was integrated with some of the other people.  The Master was taking them all up to their rooms, that they were supposed to stay in. 

She had wanted to ask someone what was going on, but that didn't seem to be allowed, since no one was allowed to _talk,_ especially with all the brainwashed guards around, but one woman hooked her arm through Donna's and gave her a knowing smile, her eyes like a golden sun, the white of them around them almost making the irises seem blinding. Donna had just nodded, and the agreement that they would be staying in the same room was that. 

"This one was not here before," a guard said to Donna and the woman.

"She is my sister," the woman said, her dark amber skin making her look like a regal princess. She stared down her nose at the guard.

Now, to anyone's eye, and that means literally _anyone's_ eyes, it would be quite clear that these two women were not, in fact, sisters.  But the guard stared at them, gaze blank and angry, like any good minion's should be.

"Very well." the guard said, and swung open a door to a hotel room.  

The woman entered the room and Donna followed, shutting and locking the door behind her so that nobody could come in, even if they wanted to.  She smiled at the woman, who placed a finger to her lips. 

After ten seconds (Donna counted) the woman lowered her finger. "You are not from here," she said. 

Donna shook her head. "We're a bit obvious, yeah."

"You are." The woman laced her fingers together in front of her.  "Do you know what's going on here?"

"No.  That's why my mate came barging in, swinging his arms and yelling," she winced, "Not the best approach all the time."

The woman smiled, "No, it's really not, but he seems to mean well and I think that is all that matters in the end." she paused, as though she was about to say something that she didn't really want to talk about.  "Do you know about the Master?"

"I know a little bit, just based on what the Doctor said," she said, furrowing her bros, "I'm not sure what's... Why is he here.  The Doctor seems to think that he was supposed to be dead."

"He was.  Those were the legends.  But someone, we don't know who, concocted some sort of potion to bring him back to life.  Quite ridiculous to those who don't understand the power that magic can have on the world."

"I think the Doctor believes in science more than magic." Donna admitted. "What does this guy want?"

"What every man wants, " the woman said simply. "To control the world. And the Doctor, who is your friend, doesn't let him have Earth. So he must go somewhere else, you see?"

"Yeah, I mean, I get why he chose here, it's similar to Earth, but why all the hush? Why the curfew?"

The woman walked to the small kitchenette that was in the room and hovered her hand over the stove. A blue light lit under it and she settled a kettle over it. "I think that some men do quite well with power. They make the universe a better place. Like your Doctor, for example.  A wonderful man, isn't he?  We've all heard the stories."

"Yeah, he is, but he doesn't always think that he is."

"Better than the Master," the woman said bluntly, and Donna had to laugh when she nodded. 

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Donna asked seriously, after a moment, "What am I supposed to do?"

"I needed to keep you safe," the woman said, "You came with the Doctor. We know, from experience, that the Doctor can save us. But first, of course, we need to break him and his other companion out of the cells that they were placed in.

"Will we be able to?" Donna asked, "What are we supposed to do?  Just break them out and hide in the bushes until we can beat up the Master?"

"It will take much more than that.  The Master has been in power for five years. I was here on holiday. I am now here permanently. A shame, is it not?  No one moves, there are no rules during the harsh light of day, and we all fight, _oh,_ we fight, dear. " She pounded her fist over her heart. "But, we are stronger than him. Together, and with the Doctor and the technology he provides, I believe that we can defeat him, vile beast that he is."

Donna smiled.  "Wait a second, what's your name? If we're gonna be in the rebellion together, I might as well know who you are."

The woman nodded, like she was simply honoring a reasonable request. "Of course. My name is Althea.   It means 'with healing power'. I intend to live up to that name, now."

"Of course.  Where are you from?"

"Where are _you_ from?"

"Earth."

"I am from Elicta, part of Quadrant IV of the solar system Kan." She smiled, "And by the look on your face, I can safely say that you have never been."

"No, I haven't," Donna laughed, "But what do you think... Do you think we _can_ break the Doctor and Rose out?  It's just the two of us."

Althea tapped her nose.  "Oh, there are more than just the two of us, I'll have you know.  We are strong in numbers, the whole hotel, really. All we need to do is get a few of the guards out of the way."  She turned back to the kettle. "I've been planning this for months."

"You lead the rebellion here? Against the Master?"

"You could say that."

Donna felt hope rise in her chest.  Althea was definitely the right woman to be with in a time like this.  "Of course.  So we'll... We're gonna have to save the world."

Althea smiled.  "Yes. Now, how do you take your tea?" 


	10. Chapter 10

Donna and Althea sat at the tiny table in the hotel room.  Althea tried to explain what had happened, but the long and short of it had been exactly what she'd said: The Master had wanted a world to control and this had been the closest one.  

"So what, he's just an evil dictator?" Donna asked, furrowing her brows in confusion. 

Althea smiled, "Pretty much."

"And we have to get down to the Doctor and Rose," Donna was talking more to herself than Althea, "But how?  If we all stampede the Master's little dungeon, then he's going to kill us.   _And_ Rose and the Doctor, and then there will be no hope."

"You and I are going to do it," Althea said simply, "The others in the hotel are simply backup."

"You and I?" Donna repeated, "How?"

Althea smiled, a smug little thing, and lifted a ring of keys from her pockets. "I may be from one of the classiest planets in the galaxy, but even there we enjoy a good sin every now and then."

Donna laughed, having not expected that. "You've got the master keys?"

"I have."

"Why haven't you used them yet?"

Althea lifted a shoulder and tucked the keys back into her loose pocket.  "It wasn't time yet.  It is time now."

"How did you know?"

"Because your arrival with the Doctor and Rose has been the most exciting thing to happen to us since the Master took over.  No excitement happens here.  The fact that something exciting did happen is revolutionary.  We're about to do something incredible.  Tomorrow, when the curfew lifts in the morning, we will go down and take care of the Doctor and Rose."

Donna saw the incredible hope in Althea's eyes and realized it could be much the same to the rest of the world.  "Well... Cheers to that, then."

****

Rose woke up covered in sweat and curled up in the Doctor's coat.  She hadn't been dreaming.  It was a cold sweat, and she felt sick.  As if realizing that, she let out a weak cough.  She sat up and looked over to the Doctor.  He was still standing up with his hands in his pockets. 

"Doctor?" she croaked out.

He turned to her and his face went instantly white.  "Rose, are you alright?"

She coughed again, feeling like her weakness had come on very suddenly, and she wasn't sure why. She curled her hand around the edge of his coat, drawing it against her.  "No," She shook her head, "I feel sick."

'I'll bet you do, you're white as a sheet." he got to his knees next to her cell and gestured for her to come over.

He did, shuffling over and crouched down across from him, all but falling when she sat.  He reached for her and took her hand. 

"You're burning up."

"I'm cold."

"Yes."  He reached out and pressed his wrist to her forehead. "You've a high fever." 

She leaned against the bars and tried to get closer to his warmer body.  He was usually colder than her, but in fact, with her fever, he was hot, burning hot.  "What's... I haven't been sick since I was eighteen."

"Even when you were-"

"No," she shook her head, in agony, "I wasn't ever sick in Pete's World," she curled in on herself, clutching his hand in hers.  He took the hand that she wasn't holding and wrapped his palm around her neck, trying to warm her up.  She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut.

The Doctor's mind was rumbling at about a mile a minute.  How could she have gotten sick, and so quickly?  When he had scanned her hand earlier in the night, there had been no signs of an illness residing in her. He would've taken care of it if there was. He knew that she hadn't gotten sick while with him because he had prevented it.   But while in Pete's World, too?

He also knew that the one thing she needed was to be held, to bring the fever down, to heat her until it broke.  He couldn't get close enough to her to heat her up, though, so he hoped that his coat and the hand on her face would do.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I don't know what's-" he wasn't sure, but he knew it had something to do with the Master. It had too.  He clenched his jaw. "You should sleep."

"I don't know if I can," Rose said softly, "I don't know what to do, I don't remember how to be sick."

He stroked back her hair, trying to be calm about all this and not quite managing it.  He tried to watch her carefully, and he wanted to look in her eyes to see if they were clouded at all, but she wouldn't open them.  Her brow furrowed and her breath was shallow. 

"Rose, I'm going to call for help, alright?  They have to help you if you're sick, that's on any planet, usually."

"This guy, though..." she stopped and shivered a bit. "It's not... He's different.  He'll kill me before he sees me well, though. I think you know that, Doctor."

The Doctor pursed his lips, because he did know that of course, he knew all sorts of vile things about the Master. He scooted a little closer to her and watched her carefully. "Then tell me what you want me to do, Rose."

She frowned, letting it mar her pretty face.  "Just sit with me, please, I don't want to be alone."

"You're not gonna be alone, not anymore," he replied, "I promise," the last bit was said on a slight whisper.  He couldn't let her go, not anymore.  There were times when he thought that that was possible, but he _knew_ better now.  Knew that if he ever tried to make her leave, or leave her, that he would never manage it.  

He  moved his hand from her neck to her shoulder, his thumb rubbing along the fabric of his coat on her body.  She blew out a gentle sigh and coughed again.  "I don't wanna get you sick," she said softly.

"You can't get me sick. Biologically impossible. I just wish I could keep you warm," he said. She squeezed her eyes all the way shut until she was not able to see a lick of light.  "You should still try to sleep though, even if you're just here." 

Rose made a low sort of grunt and cuddled down as far as she could against the bars.  She still held his one hand tight, and the other that he didn't hold made its way back up to her neck, holding her tight, fingers touching the nape of her neck.  

She fell into a restless sleep that he could tell was nearly hurting her, as she was so dreadfully uncomfortable.  The Doctor felt  a surge of hate for his old friend, the Master. This wasn't fair, to attack her, she was a _human,_ she wouldn't survive. It was incredible that Lucy had escaped from the clutches of him, even though he had 'died'.  

Rose was good and pure, and that was why the Master wanted to destroy her, he could see that now.  He wished he could keep her same.  He wished he had kept her in the TARDIS for a few days more. 

He wished he could _love_ her.

Sighing, he stayed at her side, his leg numbing as he sat on it, all night.

At the first morning light, the Master came sweeping down into his little dungeon with two of his brainwashed guards at his sides.  

"Oh, look at you.  Good thing I didn't' put you in the same cell, I probably would've seen much more than i wanted to, don't you think?"

"Shut up," the Doctor snapped at him, 'She's sick. What did you do?"

"Me? I didn't make your weak little human sick, I can promise you that," the Master smiled, his wicked smile settled in firmly upon his face.  "She'a fragile.  Isn't she?"

Rose shifted against the parts of the Doctor that she was touching.  Her head brushed his neck and he looked down at her, watching her eyes flutter open as she woke up. 

"Doctor?"

"Yes, Rose?"

"I feel worse today."

He brought his hand up to her cheek and turned to look at the Master. "Put us in the same cell. I need to break her fever."

"Well, there's no telling what you'll do in that cell."

"Don't be a pervert," The Doctor snarled. "She's sick, she hasn't been sick in years, I just want to make her comfortable."

"I'm sure you do."

The Doctor's face was one of twisted hatred that would have shocked Rose had she been up enough to go and look up into his face.  Instead she moaned in pain at the sharp push in her mind. 

"What are you doing?"  The Doctor demanded.  "Don't go in her head."

"Well, listen, I think you're being a bit... Oh...." The Master grinned.  "She's very interesting."

The Doctor's fingers flew to her temple and pushed into her mind without asking.  He felt only a bit of regret for it as he tried to get the Master _out._ Something about this incarnation of the Master was quite good at digging in without physical touch, which should have been impossible, as Time Lords are, or were, rather, touch telepaths.

His consciousness met the Master's with a blinding clash that made Rose cry out even as the Doctor tried to push him out. 

 _Are you seeing this?_ The Master's voice laughed in Rose's head.   _This is truly wild.  Who would've thought that I looked anything like him?_

 _Stop rooting through her memories!_ The Doctor called back.   _Let her_ go!

With a mighty shove, the Doctor pushed him.  It was a moment that proved how strong the Doctor really was, his experiences jading him but keeping him alive.  Keeping Rose alive.  It was the most important part of him, that kept him fighting. 

The Master cried out and stumbled back, his guards catching him. 

"You've gotten stronger." the Master said softly. "Or is it the passion that keeps you like this, pushing and shoving a man's mind about?"

The Doctor wasn't even looking at him.  He stared down at Rose, who was quaking, sweat beading upon her brow.  "Rose?" He said softly, trying to get her to look at him. 

Her eyes opened and a flash of gold shot across the hazel of her eyes and she stared up at him.  "What was that?" She asked softly. 

"Nothing," he wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled weakly at her. "It'll be alright," he promised her. 

"Hurts like hell," she said, pressing her forehead into the cool bars. 

"I know," He said, rubbing his hand along her face and through her hair, trying to soothe the pain that must be pushing through her mind.  He wanted to go in and repair the damage done to her mind, but he wasn't about to do so with the Master in the room.  It would only make him unaware and he would try and hurt them both. 

"That's very sweet," the Master said, arms crossed over his chest. "The two of you, trying to have a cuddle through the bars."

"You could've destroyed her mind!" The Doctor shouted, directing it away from Rose so as not to hurt her.  "Leave us. Or let us together. But I will _not_ let you hurt her."

The Master laughed.  "Not after that little outburst.  Oh, and how do you like the bars?  Can't use your sonic on those!"  he kept laughing and started walking back up the stairs, the guards using the same awkward laugh that told him that they would certainly not be using if they hadn't been brainwashed so.  

Once he went up the stairs with his guards, he was surprised to find that Donna stumbled right down with another woman who the Doctor had never seen before.  

"What? Donna?" 

"Hello!" Donna grinned, but her smile fell when she saw how Rose looked.  "What's happened?"

"She's sick," The Doctor stroked her hair back, "We don't know what's happened, only that the Master probably did it.  He went in her head."

The woman next to Donna pulled out her keys. "My name is Althea.  We're getting you out of here." 

"We should wait until-"

"Have a bit of hush, Doctor. Althea knows a place.  The Master doesn't even know about it.  That's where the rebellion is happening."

Althea opened Rose's door and then the Doctor's.  It was only a few moments between the Doctor's door being open that he flew into Rose's cell and he swept her up into his arms.  She curled weakly against his chest, her body fighting against whatever was holding her. 

He kissed her forehead, holding her like the most precious cargo, which she certainly was.  He stared at her for another moment more before turning to Donna and Althea.  

"Let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

They left the hotel, and the Doctor was surprised that they were able to make it out at all.  Althea and Donna led the way, Donna casting glances over her shoulder.  She stepped back next to the Doctor and looked at Rose. 

"What's going on with her right at this moment?" Donna asked, "Can you tell?"

The Doctor bent down and pressed a kiss to Rose's head, checking it.  "She's got a fever. Her mind is trying to build up barriers that it doesn't have, so she's fighting it. She doesn't look good, either."

"Can you break it?" Donna asked. "Are you going to be alright?  Is _she?"_

The Doctor's mouth was set in a thin line and he nodded. "I think she's going to be alright, but it's hard to tell when I can't look her over properly. Where are we going?"

"Ever been to a speakeasy?"

Althea grinned at them over her shoulder.  "The Master is the only one permitted to have alcoholic beverages. I don't think I'm going to be able to handle that, so I made a few connections."

Rose shifted in the Doctor's arms, almost making him drop her.  She pressed her nose into his chest and groaned, her brow furrowing in pain.  He wrapped his arms more securely under her and shifted her higher on his body, so he could hold her even closer.  She shifted her feet and the Doctor looked down at her again in nervousness.  

"I'll probably need a drink by the time we're done here," the Doctor said softly.  He looked at Donna. "I just got her back. I can't lose her."

" I know you can't."

They walked along the roads with everyone else, some looking at Rose in the Doctor's arms and murmuring to each other in confusion, but some of them didn't pay attention at all.  The Doctor was furious.  They should've been shouting for help, to bring Rose help, they should have been furious with the Master.

Then again, not every human was as brave and strong as Rose. He focused on her heartbeat as they walked after Althea, not knowing quite what to say.  He wanted to launch into babble, to shout about some sort of technobabble that Rose would understand.  

Rose would know.

He blew out his cheeks. He hadn't lost her, not yet.

"Is there going to be a bed for Rose?" The Doctor finally piped up, needing to say something. "She's going to need rest and kept warm."

"Not to worry," Althea replied, "There is a spare room.  I am the only one with a key.  It will be just for you while you are here.  her safety is really quite important. " She looked at Rose and frowned a little. "I'm going to take care of this as best as I can."

"I know," The Doctor said, realizing the honesty of Althea's statement.  

They made it to what looked like a pub, but when they entered, there was no smell of ale or anything even remotely alcoholic.  It smelled simply of chicken, and most of the people inside were talking quietly, like something bad would happen if someone shouted. 

Althea nodded to some people as she passed, and then pushed right into the men's bathroom, pulling out a ring of keys from inside her shirt.  She waited until everyone was in after her and then unlocked the stall all the way on the end.  When it was open, she pulled up a trap door that had not been visible from the outside. She gestured for the others to precede her down, and they did, the Doctor having to maneuver a little specifically to get Rose into it. 

She shifted in his hold again, her nose on his neck as she tilted her head up. "Doctor?"

"Yes, Rose?" he asked, relieved that she was alert enough to speak, but not wanting her to strain herself when her body was so weak and limp in his arms.  

"My head hurts. I'm thirsty."

"We'll get you something to drink."

"Am I dreaming?"

"No, Rose, I'm afraid not," he said, tilting his cheek against her head briefly.  She hummed happily and let him do it, happy to feel his warmth on her skin.  

The bottom of the stairs was a regular pub, a less restricted version of the building upstairs, but Althea breezed right through it and to a back door.  She unlocked that one and inside was a sort of little condo, with soft lighting to make up for no windows.  

"The bedroom is right through there.  Donna and I are going to go through some of the plans I have.  We will bring you out a bit later if you wish to speak about it."

The Doctor blinked. "You... You really have this whole thing together, don't you?" he asked, smiling a little, finding it a little odd that he was even able to do so.  

"Yes, I certainly try to," she raised her chin in defiance. "I'm going to finish this." 

She nodded him towards the bedroom and the Doctor went through the door, not even wanting to hold it off anymore.  Donna brought him a compress to place on Rose's forehead, and laid a hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm gonna try and be as much like you as I can, Doctor. I want to help."

The Doctor furrowed his brows at her. "Donna, you don't have to be like me. Please don't be like me.  Be like you," he smiled, "You're positively brilliant."

She rolled her eyes and thumped him fondly. "Oh, you sentimental lump," she leveled him with a serious gaze. "I'll tell you what I know. Alright?"

"Yeah."

She left, shutting the bedroom door behind her, and the Doctor settled in the chair that he had pulled up next to the bed.  He'd left his coat on Rose and tucked her in under the covers, her arms laying over them but that was all.  He reached out to her and cupped her cheek after settling the compress on her head. 

"Are you awake?" He whispered.

"Yes," she replied on a breath, "I don't feel well. What did he do in my head?"

"I don't know, Rose, I'd have to go into your mind to look, and I don't want to-"

"Will it make it stop hurting?"

"I don't know," he said honestly, "It might, it might not."

"Do it."

"Rose, your head-"

"I trust you," She opened bleary eyes.  "I feel really sick, Doctor, and I want to help."

"He rooted through your memories, Rose, he said that he reminded you of something, or someone, I suppose," the Doctor didn't want to tell her, but she deserved to know, and peering at him under that compress, she looked so pure and innocent that he couldn't stand to keep anything from her.  

She closed her eyes briefly but opened them to him again. "Oh," she said softly, and swallowed hard. "I don't... I don't want to think about it."

He took her hand in his, a little worried, and smiled at her. "It's alright, you don't have to," he siad, hoping he sounded reassuring, "But I can try and eliminate your headache, or at least she if I can."

"Okay," she closed her eyes again.  "Come do it."

He climbed onto the bed next to her and settled his hands on her face, pressing his fingers to her temples.   "Let me in, Rose."

She gasped softly, letting him into her mind.  He slipped in carefully, not wanting to hurt her. There was damage done to her nerves, and so he started to repair them, putting a bit of regenerative energy into her, knowing it wouldn't do anything bad to her.  When he heard her outside of her head, breathing out a sigh of relief, he removed himself gently from her mind, rebuilding mental walls as he did so.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Still don't feel good."

"We have to break your fever," he said thoughtfully, and kicked off his shoes and most of his clothes, down to his pants and Henley, before making her sit up so he could take off his coat.  He slid under the covers, not even thinking anything of it, and wrapped himself around her, slipping his hand up under her shirt so that his arm could warm her.  He drew her against him and she gave another sigh as he tugged the covers over them and held her tight.  She quickly pulled his hand out from under her shirt and clung to it tightly, laying their clasped hands over her stomach. He frowned at her. That certainly wasn't like her at all. Something was wrong. He was about to ask her what was going on when she spoke.

"I'm holding you back from what Donna and Althea are doing," she said sadly.

"It's alright," he assured her, "Don't you worry."

"I'm worrying," she protested, "I know all you want to do is try and figure out how to take down the Master." She tried to roll away from him.  "Go on, go do it."

"They'll come to me, Rose."  As much as he was willing to acknowledge that he did want to go and talk to Althea and Donna, but he also didn't want to leave Rose alone, and her safety always came first.  That was one thing about his life that never changed.  He pulled her back to him, and she let out a whine. 

"Focus on trying to get warm," he whispered against her forehead.

She pressed her forehead, compress and all, into his chest. "Do you think..."

"What  is it?"

"Are you mad that I came back?"

"Why would I be mad?" He asked in shock.  He stroked her hair back. "Rose, I'm so happy you're here.  So happy."

"Just another fragile little human."

"Rose-"

"I'm useless to you," she said softly, "I can't even stay awake."

"Sleep, Rose, get well," he said, "It's not your fault. I'm fairly certain that he made you sick, especially after what you said about never getting sick in Pete's World. That's a bit suspicious, isn't it? A good old mystery?"

"It's a mystery I can't even participate in," she whispered, "Because I'm bloody sick and can't get well."

"Sleep, and you'll get well," he replied, "I'll hold you."

She seemed to drop right off at that, and he tucked her even closer against himself. There was nothing like holding Rose Tyler, and he was realizing that more and more each time that she was in his arms.  he was never going to be able to let this go, as long as he lived, as long as she stayed with him. 

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. Oh, it was really not fair, what she did to him. Really, properly, not fair. 

****

Donna and Althea sat at a table over what Donna could only call battle plans. There was no other name for it, it was definitely what it was.  Althea had sketched maps, and there were notes and names and places of interest. 

"So, what, you think we can use this underground system and destroy them? I don't know."

"If we take out the guards, it's only a matter of time," Althea shrugged. "They are brainwashed.  The people that are here are merely obedient out of fear. If we can eliminate that fear... Well, then it's all over then, isn't it?"  She smiled. 

"But... Do they have a weak spot? What do you suggest we do?"

Althea sighed. "It's very complicated. We must locate a weak spot on the guards," she pulled out another map, this one looked to be a blueprint of what the guards looked like, right down to the spaced out eyes that locked on nothing and had gripped Rose and the Doctor to the point of pain.  Donna furrowed her brows at them. "They're not even scary."

"They bruise, or can bruise, with the slightest touch. It's not hard for them."  She rubbed a hand over her face.  "I would be willing to bet that Rose had a bruise."

Donna raised her eyebrows. "Well, the Doctor's not going to like that.  If Rose gets hurt, all bets are off."

"Rose has a fever." Althea reminded her easily, "I am fairly certain that all bets are off then, aren't you?" 

Donna had to admit that the moment she had seen the Doctor, she had seen a panic in his eyes that was unfamiliar to her.  Nothing would hurt him like Rose being hurt, or Rose dying, or Rose getting a cut on her little finger. Because now that she was back, he was going to protect her at all costs.

 


	12. Chapter 12

The Doctor hadn't meant to fall asleep, but Rose's body was so warm that he'd felt safe and comfortable.  Rose had turned into him in her sleep, trying to bury herself in him, and when the Doctor woke from his little nap, he was wrapped up in her arms, her face buried in his neck, and she was shivering.

He rubbed his hands over her back and pressed a kiss to her forehead, unwrapping himself from her arms. He needed to discuss the plans with Althea and Donna, or else nothing was going to get done.  He was reluctant to do so, though, because she was so _warm,_ and he knew that his body was doing her some good as well. 

Even with his reluctance, he managed to get out of bed and pull on his trousers and Oxford before tucking Rose tightly into the covers and going down to where Donna and Althea sat, battle plans everywhere.  

"What are you-?"

"Althea was telling me about the guards," Donna said, "They're brainwashed."

"I know," the Doctor said, "I am completely aware that they are brainwashed. How are we supposed to stop it?"

Althea peered up at him. "The Master has very sophisticated technology, and he used it to remove the brains of the people he's taken. The only way to get rid of them is to kill them," she said it softly and nearly winced at the murderous look on the Doctor's face.

"We can't kill them, none of this is their fault," the Doctor said firmly, "I won't let you."

"There's no other way, Doctor," Donna felt herself soften as she remembered what the Doctor had told her.  "It's like the Cybermen. They're not really people anymore.  We have to.. We have to do it."

"Stop it," The Doctor leaned forward and started to shift through the papers that they had.  "There has to be another way, I'm not going to kill anybody else, I'm not.  I can't."

"What would Rose do?" Donna said bluntly, "What would Martha?"

The Doctor knew. The Doctor knew that Rose and Martha both would want the least amount of people to die.  He leaned his head forward and rubbed his hand over her face. "That's not fair," he said bluntly. "I can't... She..."

"Rose would want you to save lives, Doctor.  The only way to get rid of the Master is to get rid of his minions.  Don't you get that?"

The Doctor glanced back at the door he had just shut, leaving behind Rose.  "How long until the Master finds us?"

"He hasn't found us yet, Doctor," Althea said reassuringly, "We just drink in here, as far as the guards know, and they're pretty stupid as it is."  She smiled sympathetically, "I know that there's a lot to think about, Doctor.  We have to be honest with ourselves.  There's no pacifist's way out this time."  She flipped over one of her maps.  "We've got to kill them."

"Us and who?" The Doctor demanded. 

"Everyone in that pub," Donna said, gesturing with one arm.  "We have everyone in there for us, and others that aren't here right now. We can attack tomorrow."

Donna looked at him steadily. "If you want," she added, "You can talk to Rose about it."

"I don't know what to do with Rose." he admitted, "She was never sick with me there." 

Althea smiled. "She needs what every young human needs when they're sick," she stood and went to the door to the pub. "Some soup."

"I don't know if that's going to help her," the Doctor said relucantly.

"I do know," Althea said. "I will return shortly."

SHe left, not leaving the Doctor any time to think about it.  He sat down in the spot she had vacated, looking at Donna for help. "I can't... This is too much, Donna."

Donna frowned. "I know this is hard.  I know you didn't expect the Master.  I just... I wish that Rose was healthy so we could go on with this."

"What, you would attack today?" The Doctor asked, shocked.

"No, dumbo," Donna rolled her eyes, "It's too short notice right now.  Althea's got to spread the word here first.  And we need to get Rose vertical.  She's not gonna get you sick, is she?"

The Doctor shook his head, "No, we can't... She can't get me sick."

"So does that mean your'e going to tell her how you feel?" Donna asked. 

"What? How does that relate at all?" The Doctor asked, feeling a little flustered.

"It doesn't, but I wasn't about to wait for you to bring it up." She said, crossing her arms and giving him a very classic stare. "So you gonna answer me or not?" She asked.

He shook his head. "It's not that simple, Donna. It's based on more than feelings, with Time Lords.  And she's-"

"Human? Not good enough for you?"

"Shut up. She's _too_ good for me. But right now she's sick and I can't let my emotions control me.  I was a little bit afraid of her coming back, but all I wanted was for her to come back.  ANd now that she's here..." he shook his head.  "I don't know what to do with her.  She can't possibly understnad what it means to be with me."

"Why do you underestimate her like that?"

"Because I hurt her," he said softly, "I always hurt her.  Always.  And I damaged her hand. Actual damage that I had to repair because she told me to stop and I couldn't hear her because I was so obsessed with the bloody Master coming back."  He ran his hands through his hair, wishing Rose was there to comfort him.

"She doesn't blame you for that," Donna said softly, "She's not angry with you for her hand, she wouldn't have been holding onto you when we found the pair of you if she didn't."

He shook his head. "Just because she cares for me doesn't mean she trusts me anymore," he said miserably. 

Donna rolled her eyes so hard that it almost hurt. "You bloody idiot.  It's not about that for her. She would trust you to the end of the universe, and she _has,_ so don't you go doing the 'everyone would be better of without me' routine."

He clenched his jaw, knowing deep down that she was right but not wanting to address it.  He shook his head. "I can't think about that now."

"Have you ever considered that Rose might need you to?"

He hadn't. He really hadn't given any thought to what Rose thought at all.  He was obsessed with keeping her at arm's length.  He breathed out a sigh. "Maybe you're right," he said, "But we have bigger problems."

"I know," Donna said, "I know this is hard." She furrowed her brows. "But it's also very difficult for Rose. She loves the stuffing out of you and you show her the most indifference I've ever seen from one person."

He was about to retort, really about to, but Althea came in with a large mug with a spoon in it, and the Doctor could see the cup steaming.  She handed him the mug and smiled a little. "Take this to Rose. She needs to put something in her body. And so do you.  Come out and fetch something when you're done."

The Doctor nodded and took the mug from her.  "Thank you," he said softly, "For everything, for everything that you're doing for us and for this plalnet."

"I am not the one that needs thanking. I should be thanking you for coming."

He smiled, feeling like that was wrong, and went back into the room he'd left Rose in. He shook her gently awake, which was not something that she had wanted, judging by her bleary eyes and how she was moving sluggishly.  She looked up at him and blinked a few times. 

"Hi," she croaked out.

"Donna's pal brought you some soup," he said, taking a seat on the bed as she fought to sit up.  She reached to take the mug from him but her hands were shaking nearly violently and she couldn't quite manage it.  He batted her hand away and lifted the spoon, full of vegetables and broth, and brought it to her lips.  She looked a little embarrassed but she took the bite anyway.  

She let her eyes slip shut and she looked a little surprised.  "It's been a long time since I've eaten," she whispered. "Oh, Doctor, you should eat something." She tried to stand up but the Doctor pushed her gently back down. 

"Rose, I'll be fine.  I need to worry about you for right now, all right?"

She nodded, knowing he was trying to make up for something, and she leaned back. He fed her over the course of several minutes, and she turned her face away when he tried to offer her another spoonful. 

"Rose, you should finish this."

"I'm not really hungry."

"No, I'm sure you're not, but you must, alright?"

"No, I really don't want to."

"No."

"No."

"No."

He made a face at her. "Do you feel sick? Are you going to throw up?"

"No, I'm not going to throw up, I'm just not hungry, not really," she said.  She smiled sheepishly. "Just another sick little human for you to take care of."

"I wish you wouldn't talk about yourself that way," he said, and while she was distracted he gave her another bite of soup. She tried to turn her head but he wouldn't let her.  She took the bite and rolled her eyes. 

She sat up a little straighter and grabbed at her side, her face contorting in pain.  The Doctor reached for her and she held a hand out to stop him.

"I'm alright, just an old pain."

"Rose, what do you mean by that?" He tried to get a better look at her face.

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. How about if I eat the rest of that soup you don't worry about that?"

"I'm going to worry," the Doctor said, "What's wrong with your side?"

She reached for the spoon and he wasn't going to make her stop eating, even if he knew it was just an excuse to keep him off the topic of a strange pain that she was having.  He fed her the rest of the mug and he set it on the end table next to the bed, a rickety old thing, placed there as an afterthought. 

After a moment of him staring worriedly at her, she reached out and cupped his cheek. "Stop making that face."

"What face? This is my face." 

She smiled weakly. "That face like you're worried, and like you don't know what's going on and it's killing you."

"I want to know..." He pushed into her touch, covering her hand with his. "I really want to know what happened to you when we were apart. And I want to know what the Master reminds you of."

"All in due time," She whispered, pressing the wrist of her free hand to her own forehead. "Have I still got a temperature?"

He leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. "Yes, but it's gotten down.  I think something in the dungeon gave you a fever. Maybe a chemical that he put in the air or something like that."

"Can he do that?"

"Yeah. It's actually not as hard as you'd think it would be," he said, "Though there are much more complicated things that he could be doing to hurt you. It makes me wonder why he didn't... Even though I'm quite glad he didn't. "

Rose smiled. "It's alright," she said, "I'll be fine."

"You should get some more rest," the Doctor said softly, "It will kill the fever faster."

"Do they need you out there?" 

"No, I don't think so."

"Will you stay again?"

"Yes."

The next few hours were quite painful, as the Doctor monitored Rose's temperature and then went back to check on Donna and Althea.  They went to go and tell more people about the revolt that was about to take place, and Donna told the Doctor in no uncertain terms that she was a big girl and he was needed here with Rose. 

As much as he didn't want to let her go, he did, and the two women left, with dark cloaks that Althea had gotten from some place or another.  He breathed out a sigh and rubbed his eyes, hard.

When it came to things like this, adventures like this, it was parts like this. 

The waiting was the hardest part.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ THIS FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> There is a warning on this chapter for mentions of abuse. It is not graphic and it doesn't last long, it's simply mentions, but if you're uncomfortable with that please take caution when reading.

The phone rang. 

Rose stirred next to him, and he kissed her forehead. He was almost disappointed that her fever had broken, because he had no excuse to kiss her now.  She nuzzled into his chest and breathed out a little sigh. "Can you get it, Doctor?  'M a little tired."

He laughed and rolled away from her. "Not sure why they're ringing here, though.  Your fever's broken."

She burrowed into the pillow that he'd just vacated.  "Mm, doesn't feel like it."

"You're recovering."

She cracked open and eye and stared at him. "You gonna come back?"

"Sure.  Donna and Althea will be back soon." He left the room then, before she could convince him to crawl under the covers with her and convince him that she was better enough for lots of things. 

He sniffed to himself and went to the sound of the phone, just outside the bedroom door, before answering it.

"Hello?" He said carefully, into the phone.

"Doctor." Althea's voice rang through the phone. "Get yourself and Rose to the hotel. We some some business to finish up."

The Doctor jolted with adrenaline.  "Alright." He hung up before Althea could say anything else and walked back to the bedroom, where Rose was sitting up, her hair delightfully tousled, mascara flaking down her cheeks. 

"What's going on?" 

He stared at her for a moment, simply because she looked so beautiful, and he sat down on the bed, reaching out to cup her cheek. She leaned into his touch easily, not breaking eye contact.  

"I'm gonna go to the hotel.  Althea and Donna are there now, I think, with the other people who are leading the rebellion."  He saw her light up and he knew exactly what she was going to do.  

"Well, let's go."

"No."

She blinked. "What?"

He shook his head. "I can't... I can't let you go. He gave you a fever, somehow.  I don't think he's done with you."

Rose threw the covers aside and pulled herself away from him.  She moved off the bed and wavered on her feet a little bit.  She put herself together quickly, double checking the knots on her trainers.  "I'm coming."

"No! Rose, no!" He stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders, "No!  We are not having this conversation.  For once in your bloody life, you are going to listen to me!"

She blinked again. He'd never been this firm with her before, not really.  She wanted to push him off of her, but he was touching her and she wasn't stupid enough to fight that off.  So she scowled instead. "I'm not, Doctor.  I'm not going to listen to you.  You, Doctor, you are going to listen to me.  Whatever happens to me at that hotel is my fault, not yours, because I decided to come along. What if you leave me here and on of the Master's guards finds me? What then? Then that would be your fault.  Wouldn't you rather have me with you?"

He had to admit that he would rather have her with him.  He'd rather be able to have her close and know what was happening with her than have to guess. The only way he wouldn't have to guess is if he put a bond between them and he couldn't do that.  Closing his eyes, he dropped his hands from her. "Fine. Let's go."

********

People were a bit more lively as they traveled back to the hotel, as though they knew exactly what was going on.  Rose reached out and took the Doctor's hand. He looked down at her, startled that she would let him hold her hand after the way he had hurt her the last time. 

"It'll be okay," she said softly. 

"I don't know about that, Rose, but we can sure try."

She leaned her head against his shoulder briefly and then lifted it again.  She walked ahead of him towards the hotel, more pulling him along than anything else.  He let her, because she was the one that usually led him in everything else.  

The Doctor pulled ahead of Rose to open the door, and Donna and Althea stood inside, dead quiet with the rest of the what seemed to be the entire population, even though Rose knew that couldn't be the case.

Donna explained in hushed tones that they were going to make noise once curfew hit, which would pretty much trigger the Master and his guards to come down.  Althea went on to say that the Doctor was meant to be at the forefront, which meant that Rose wouldn't be far behind.  

He sighed, knowing, when her hand tightened on his, that she wasn't going to be giving up anytime soon.  He could feel in her grip that she still felt a little bit sick.  

After a while, curfew it, and everyone in the room started talking.  The Doctor turned to Rose, worry alight in his eyes. 

"Are you sure about this? There's still time to run if you aren't feeling well," he told her.

She reached up and cupped his cheek with the hand that wasn't holding his.  "I'll be fine," she said, "I want to stay with you.  How long is it gonna take for you to get that?"

He smiled sadly at her, "Maybe one or two more times of you telling me."

As if on cue, there was the sound of glass shattering.  The Master stood at the front of the lobby, holding a glass bottle, the guard next to him bleeding from the cheek.  Rose moved closer to the Doctor and he wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. 

The Master looked absolutely fuming. "What is all this about?" He roared, "All this noise?"

"This is the revolution," The Doctor said.

"Yeah, I'd like to know how you got out," the Doctor said, "The pair of you.  Get me the girl."

Rose fisted her hand in the Doctor's jacket for purchase. "Not on your life," she snarled at him.

"You're feisty. I like it.  Bring her to me," The Master demanded. 

The guards moved forward, the purple fluid sloshing around in their helmet-heads.  They were incredibly strong, and way too strong for Rose after her illness.  They grabbed her and she cried out.  The Doctor pulled her right back up against him.  

"Enough.  You won't be touching her. You've invaded her mind once before, I'm not going to let you do it again."

"Did she tell you who I remind her of?" The Master taunted, "She's got a lot of baggage.  Are you sure you want to be screwing that, Doctor?"

"ENOUGH!" His voice was enough to startle back everyone in the room, including the Master.  The guards released Rose in shock, as they were able to still feel shock.  

The Doctor's eyes snapped.  "That's enough.  You will not _speak_ of her that way, and you will not touch her.  Do I make myself completely clear?"

"Crystal!" The Master clapped his hands, and one of the guards punched the Doctor squarely in the face, making him release Rose against his will.  He cried out, blood pouring from his nose as the guards overpowered Rose and dragged her back to the Master, who grabbed her in a bruising grip by the arm. 

Donna rushed to the Doctor, holding onto his shoulders as he tried to rush for Rose.  "You'll only make it worse for yourself, and for Rose."

He just kept catching his own blood in his hands and staring at the Master, hoping that something would happen, that Rose would get an incredible wave of strength and get away from him. Instead, she didn't move, her face full of fear.  The Master's fingers dug into her skin, and he smiled. 

"Tell them who I remind you of, flower," The Master purred in her ear, making her cringe.  "Go on.  Tell your precious Doctor. He deserves to know your wretched past."

Rose cringed and closed her eyes. She opened them again and looked at the Doctor, who was staring at her worriedly.  

The Master took his hand that wasn't bruising her arm and ran it along her cheek. "Aw.  You sweet angel. You're afraid to tell him. Afraid to tell him that you're damaged goods?  That he won't want you anymore?  That he'll realize that you're a worthless _chav?"_

The Doctor could see Rose swallow, could feel her nervousness in the air, and it killed him. "Rose," he gurgled out, and Donna rubbed his back, telling him to stop, just quit while he was ahead.  He wiped his nose, staining the sleeve on his coat.   "Rose, what's going on?"

"He looks like Jimmy Stone," She whispered. 

The Doctor had heard brief stories of Jimmy Stone, never hearing the whole thing, but it seemed that the Master didn't care for her privacy.  He laughed and pinched her cheek. "That's right!  For all of those who want to be the next companion to the one and only Doctor, now is your chance!" He laughed, and his guards mimicked it.   "Doctor, I'm going to tell you the story, and I'm going to watch you throw her away!"

Rose looked away from the Doctor, her eyes brimming with tears. She wouldn't cry though, not in front of this man.  Never in front of this man.  She still couldn't look the Doctor in the eyes, though. Not when he was about to find out how much of a chav she really was.

"See, I rooted around in this girls mind, which , I'll admit, was quite the adventure.  But her past is dead interesting, Doctor.  She ran away with a boy named Jimmy Stone. And she slept with him.  He was bad at it, granted, but she was sixteen and he was... What? Nineteen!  How could see know any better!?" The Master laughed, despite the dead silence in the room.  "She screwed him for a year, even though he beat the shit out of her.  And then he ran away with another woman and took every penny to her name." The Master leered at Rose. "Not your precious girl, is she?  Now, what, Doctor? Still think she's brave? Still think she's an incredible woman? Do you still _love her?"_

"Shut up!" The Doctor cried out.

"Tell him how Jimmy Stone put you in the hospital," the Master addressed Rose, and shook her nearly violently. "Tell him!"

"He knocked me out and Mickey found me and took me to the hospital," Rose murmured, looking at the floor. The Doctor felt his heart lurch. This was a broken woman.  This was the woman she had been before she had met him. Hadn't her experiences with him made her so much stronger?  Hadn't everything been wonderful?  Sure, it wasn't all butterflies and flowers, but she liked it, so much that she had come back to him, and he loved her fire, and...

And that fire was gone.  Where had it gone? 

"Take her upstairs," The Master shoved Rose into the arms of a guard, who hoisted her over his broad shoulder in a fireman's carry like she was a rag doll.  She tried to fight back, but she was still weak from her sickness and wouldn't be able to get back to him.  

"Don't touch her!" The Doctor shouted.

The Master shook his head. "I'm not going in there. I'm sending you in there. It seems that I can watch you better with two guards posted at your door 24/7 in a penthouse than locked up in a cell."

He snapped his fingers and three more guards came out and wrestled the Doctor to the ground. Since he was being taken to Rose, he really didn't mind, but he was also still in shock over what had been said. He only hoped she'd be willing to talk about it.

"And when I come to get her, to punish her _and_ you for your transgressions, you will not fight me," the Master said. "Or I will kill you, and she will be alone."

The Doctor sagged and walked willingly with the men. This had all been so promising, and he had ruined it, had ruined Rose. She would want to leave him now for sure, even though she had no family anymore. There was no way she would want to stay with him. 

"As for you lot!" The Master pointed at the people who had been the rebellion, all standing in shock at what they had seen, "This is your warning!  There will be no more rebellions! This! Is! It!  None of you try to save the Doctor and Rose _bloody_ Tyler!  All of you, go to bed!"

Donna was on a mission, about to charge the Master, but Althea grabbed her arm and shook her head.  No.  Not today.

Today had not been the day.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another warning for Whump, just in case! Please read with caution!

Rose was thrown into a penthouse, left to crumple onto the floor before the guards slammed the door behind her.  She gripped her shoulder as she stood up. It would likely bruise, as would the place where the Master had held her, but those were all superficial wounds in the end. What had been hurt most was her pride.  And she had a feeling the Doctor's view on her had probably changed, after this. 

The Master had been expecting them, she realized.  The windows in the room were all barred over.  She looked around and saw that she was in, quite frankly, the most beautiful prison she'd ever been held in.  She looked around the penthouse, padding about, just wanting to make herself aware of her surroundings.  There was a main room that also seemed to be a bedroom, a massive bathroom, and a kitchenette.  She frowned. There was nothing suspicious in the entire place.  

After a couple long, _long_ minutes, her heard a door slam and a gentle 'oof' from the main room.  She rushed back out to see the Doctor laying on the ground, groaning and covered in the blood from his nose. 

"You're bleeding a lot," she whispered.  She hurried to his side and helped him to his feet. "Come here, I'm going to clean you up."

"Rose, I-"

"No, I'm not talking about me.  I'm cleaning your face," her voice was quiet and vulnerable. "Take your coat off, it's soaked."

He looked sadly down at his coat sleeve and took it off, loosening his tie as well.  He rolled up the sleeves on his  oxford and followed her to the bathroom.  She looked over her shoulder at him and had a feeling that he was trying to make himself look vulnerable because she had been so vulnerable downstairs. She blew out a sigh. She didn't want to talk to him about her past.  That didn't matter, not anymore.  What mattered was the future.  And he seemed afraid to think about that.  

She gestured for him to sit on the lid of the loo when they entered, and he sat down heavily, peering up at her through wide eyes. 

"Don't look at me like that," she murmured as she took a hand towel and put hot water on it.  She stepped to where he sat, between his knees, and tilted his chin up with one of her hands.  She wasn't sure that he realized it when his hand touched her thigh delicately and rested there.  He wasn't breaking eye contact, staring up at her as she wiped the blood from his nose. 

"You really got popped, didn't you?" She asked, forcing a smile. 

He smiled back at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. His fingers curled into her jeans, and she pressed the rag under his nose again.  

"Those guards have a brilliant left hook," he said.  His smile fell as he watched her. "I think we should talk," he whispered.

"I.. I don't want to," she said firmly.

"I know you don't," he replied, "But I think we should."

"That's not really for you to decide, is it?" she cleaned off the rest of his cheek and then ran her thumb over the smooth skin.  "I don't want to talk about my past, Doctor."

"You need to, Rose." He was firm now, "I think that something is bothering you, something deep, maybe beyond what happened to you when you were in Pete's World, and I'm... At least, I thought... Aren't we best mates," He looked at her pleadingly, as though even he wasn't sure anymore. 

Rose bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah. Course we are."

"Yeah.  So... Please, talk to me?"

She felt her eyes brimming with tears.  "S'stupid," she said softly.  "It's just Jimmy Stone."

"Yeah, Jimmy Stone. You told me the bare bones.  But you've been... Hurt," She saw him blink back tears.  "I have never seen you look like that, Rose, and I never want to see it again."  He reached up from her thigh and touched her cheekbone.  "You deserve the _world."_

She looked away from him, because no man had ever said that to her.  "Yeah, well, I didn't get it, did I?" She gave his cheek one last once over with the rag and then went back to the sink to clean the blood out of it.  

He stood up and stayed right next to her, but didn't get too close. "Can we please talk?" he whispered, "Please?"

She finally nodded. "But the second you say something I don't like, I'm tapping out," she said, "He got in my head, Doctor.  I didn't tell him any of that stuff that Jimmy did.  He found out, and he _laughed_ about it."  She blinked, trying to fight back tears, but one spilled over. "No one was ever supposed to find out.  Especially not you."

"Why 'especially not me'?" The Doctor felt a bit betrayed. "What do you... How can you think that I don't want... Rose?"

She shook her head, refusing to look at him.  "It's like he said. I'm damaged goods."

She could tell that he wanted to hug her but she was actually quite glad that he refrained.  He needed her to keep talking to him, and he was going to keep that happening for as long as possible.  He'd missed talking to her... But not like this.  Never like this.

"Rose.  Will you look at me?"

"No," she choked out.

"Please, Rose."

She shook her head, her face crumpling up.  "I'm not worthy to travel with you, especially not now."

"How can you even think that?" The Doctor asked, feeling completely gobsmacked, "How could... Rose, please!"

She left the rag in the sink, now washed free of blood, and dried her hands off on another towel.  "You said you wanted to talk," She walked out of the room and he followed close behind.  She sat down on the edge of the bed and he sat down a respectable distance away, which was something they never really considered, but he had a feeling that she was working through some things and needed to be left alone for a few moments.  

She laced her fingers together in her lap and stared down at her legs.  "So, um... You... I told you that he beat me.  But there's more than that."

It took a few moments of the Doctor sitting quietly, but Rose told him the whole story.  "I was sixteen, and he told me that I was too good for A-levels, that he'd make enough to take care of both of us.  And I believed him, so I quit school.  But he drank, and when he drank, he got mean.  I'd never seen him like that," her eyes glazed over. "He hit me, and told me that if I called my mum, he'd hurt her too."

The Doctor reached out for her hand but then pulled it back.  She snapped her eyes to his hand. 

"No, please hold my hand."

He reached out with purpose this time and held one of her hand in both of his.  She curled her fingers around his and breathed out a sigh of relief.  "That continued until the night he hit me until he pushed me into a wall and I passed out.  If Mickey hadn't been dropping off something I'd loaned him... Things would've been really bad.  So they took me to the hospital. I had a concussion and a hairline fracture in my eye socket."

The Doctor got to his knees before her, so that he was eye level with her.  She saw tears brimming in his eyes as he asked, "Which eye?"

"The-the right one," she whispered 

He lifted his left hand and cupped her right cheek in his palm, running his thumb just under her eye.  She felt her breath hitch and if a touch could heal, the Doctor's certainly did.  That's why he was the Doctor.

"He didn't deserve to have the privilege to _look_ at you," the Doctor whispered fiercely.

She sniffed a little and then closed her eyes. "You don't think I'm useless?"

"No!  Rose, of course not," he shifted closer to her. "How could you think that?"

"Because of what happened after I lost you."

"Tell me, Rose."

"The Dimension Cannon wasn't safe."

"I-"

Rose pulled away from his hand and he dropped it back to his side.  Without even thinking about it, she ripped off her shirt and he had to stifle a gasp. Her eyes snapped with an anger and she wasn't sure where it was supposed to be directed.

Her torso was scattered with scars, some of them wide and puckered and some thin and white.  They traveled up her chest and she bit back more tears at the Doctor's expression. 

"Tell me now I'm not damaged goods."

"What happened?"

"Tell me-"

"What.  Happened. Rose."

She swallowed hard. "I got hit by a car in the seventy third century.  Completely bloody wild what the lasers on a hover car will do to you."  She laughed, but it felt so full of tears that she cut it off abruptly, "Witnesses said that I stitched myself up... But I couldn't repair the skin."

"What do you mean, you healed yourself?" He asked her.

"People said they saw me, laying in the street, and my wounds just healed right over, except for-" she touched the skin that was puffed up around the scar. "Except for that."

The Doctor looked up at her.  "Why are you showing me this?"

"Because you should know that I am absolutely damaged goods and you should get rid of me, and I damaged myself trying to get back to you, and-"

"Rose, I am not Jimmy Stone."

"I know that."

"Do you?" The Doctor looked at her. "Is this why you wore a one-piece?"

"I didn't want you to see," she whispered, "I didn't want you to start asking questions, and realize that you could do better."

The Doctor felt his eyes widen. "I could never do better than you, Rose Tyler." He kept himself below her, because he knew it probably made her feel a bit safer.  He reached out and settled one hand over her biggest scar. "This does not define you," he touched the bone under her eye.  "This does not define you."  He shifted closer to her.  "What I feel for you far surpasses your physical appearance, or what has happened to you in the past."

Tears spilled over her cheeks, and she blinked quickly, trying to see him as full on as possible.  "What are you trying to say to me?"

"That-" What _was_ he trying to say? This was the moment to say 'sod it' and throw caution to the wind, so he did.  Finally. He breathed out, letting the exhale take the rest of his regrets and pain and guilt.  He leveled his gaze on hers again, watching the tears spill over his thumb and onto her cheek.  "I'm saying that I love you, despite what Jimmy Stone did to you, and what the Master did to you."

Her breath hitched as his hand moved to her shoulder, where bruises were beginning to form where the Master held her too hard.  She was crying harder now, and she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and falling into his lap as he sat back to accomadate her new position.  "Doctor."

He pressed kisses to her cheek and up to her temple.  "I tried to keep him out of your mind," he whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," she buried her face into his neck, and the tears soaked the skin there, and the collar of his shirt.  She calmed slowly, until she was just breathing heavily against him.  She sat up in his lap. "I love you, Doctor.  That's why I came back."

"And I you," He whispered.  "I love that you came back to me, you brilliant woman.  I love that you want to stay to me, and I want to have you with me forever," he watched her red rimmed eyes carefully. She was fully trained on his words, almost unable to speak.  So, he spoke instead.  "I want to keep you, Rose Tyler."

She leaned forward, and then fell back, not sure what to do.  He brought his hand up to the back of her neck, deciding for her. 

"I want you to forget the touch of a man who never loved you.  I want you to remember this," he hesitated for just a moment, before he leaned forward and kissed her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used a quote from David in this chapter. When asked if Rose had been a call girl when the Doctor found her, would he have taken her, he replied "He would take her how he found her" and I thought that was bloody beautiful.
> 
> Enjoy!

She kissed him back, holding him gently because she seemed a little bit afraid.  Not of him, never of him, but of him realizing that this was a mistake.  And in another time, that may have been the case.  He might have started to think about her lifespan or something that would make him give up the most perfect woman that he had ever known.  

He would've thought about how he couldn't keep her forever, or how he didn't deserve her, or how the Time Lords would frown on him for that.  Now, all he could think about was _"Sod_ the Time Lords" because Rose Tyler was in front of him, tight against him, so warm and brilliant and _alive._

He pulled away from her lips when he figured out that she needed to breathe, and moved onto her neck, kissing and nipping, hoping to make her forget the marks that Master had put on her.  She wrapped her arms tight around his shoulders, the fingers of one hand slipping up into his hair, holding him close.  She retaliated, pushing his head off of her and kissing him fiercely, bringing back the fire that he had missed so much.  He slid one hand up her back, encountering one or two more small scars.  He ached when he touched them, wishing that he could go back and make sure she never got them.

Of course, he absolutely could not do that, but it was quite a lovely thought.  

They tussled for dominance a little, Rose pulling his hair or him shoving her knee so he could get closer to her, but none of it was done in a way that would make her think of the violence of Jimmy Stone.  She gasped when his hands slid up her legs and he pulled away and pressed his forehead against her neck, breathing harshly. 

She was shocked by how affected he was, because no man had ever been affected by her in this way. She touched the back of his head gently and hoped to soothe him.  He wrapped his arms around her in response and he kissed her collarbone, cuddling up against her. 

It was better for her, to feel like she was comforting him. He was always comforting her.  It was about time she returned the favor. 

"I missed you so much, Rose."

"I missed you too," she whispered against his hair.  They sat for a few moments in silence, wrapped up in each other, his breath shuffling against her skin.  She loved how it felt, the quiet settling over them in a moment that could've been pure chaos.  

There were guards right outside the doors, and neither of them could think about that.  The sense of safety they felt was in fact, false, but the Doctor was sort of a safe point for Rose, even in the middle of the danger and madness of the world.  

He kissed her collarbone and moved up her neck and across her jawline, looking into her eyes. He cupped her cheek and let his hand slide down to her neck.  His thumb stroked over the corner of her jawbone and she could tell what he was doing.  He was memorizing her, in this moment, the first time they let themselves experience this, because no other day, or night, would ever be like this again.

He leaned forward and pressed the gentlest kiss to her lips.  She let out a whimper the second his lips touched hers and he pulled away, fearing that somehow, he hurt her.  She cupped his cheeks, her hands shaking a little, fingers trembling against his skin.  "I...  You don't want to get rid of me?  You don't think I've damaged?"  She searched his eyes, the fire still lit there, but dimmed in the face of her fear.

This was a part of Rose that he had never seen before.  He had seen her upset, depressed, but never like this.  She had legitimately thought that he would think she was broken.  Clearly, she didn't know him as well as she used to.  No matter what, he would take her how he found her, and that was one thing that he knew for certain.

"No!" He said, hands on her waist, hoping to ground her.  It was also grounding him, touching her, being close to her, being able to reassure her this way.  His eyes searched hers and he wished that he could clear the tears from her eyes.  He leaned forwards and kissed her again, and this time, she didn't make a sound, just wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. 

He was careful, kissing her slowly and gently, afraid of doing something wrong.  After several moments, she pulled back and pressed her forehead to his. "About bloody time," she whispered, smiling at little. 

He chuckled over a sigh or relief.  That was more like her.  "Does this make you feel... I dunno.  Bad?" He stroked his thumb over the puckered scar on her torso, glancing down at it when she wasn't looking.  

"Yeah," she replied, looking down at it with him. "I... Um, at first it reminded me, of how I was coming to find you, but now it just... I feel-"

He looked at her and waited for her to finish, but she never did.  He felt his hearts lurch for her. 

"I can get rid of it, if you want. It wouldn't be for me.  It would be for you," he assured her, "It doesn't matter to me how you look, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

Her eyes widened a little. "Can you?  Get rid of it?"

"Yeah.  Dermal regenerator setting on the sonic.  If you want it gone, I can get rid of it," he reassured her.

She kissed him again and hugged him close. "God, I'm never like this," she said softly, "How embarrassing."

He laughed a little and pressed a kiss to her neck.  "Not really. You should've seen me the last time I crossed the Master."

"Did you cry?"  She asked it after a long silence, like she had been debating saying anything at all and her tongue had just gotten the better of her.

"Yeah," he said without hesitation.  She deserved to know, after all. After this, he planned on never keeping another secret from Rose Tyler for as long as they lived. She was to know everything, and as soon as possible. Though... Perhaps not here, in this setting.  She deserved a night full of confessions and promises of love, of the stories of his troubled life while she was gone.  

She pulled back and stared at him, snapping him back to the reality that was at hand.  She regarded him carefully. "Really?  You?  I don't think I've seen you cry since-"

The Doctor smiled and nodded.  Neither of them wanted to think about Bad Wolf Bay, it was best to just put it behind them. "Yes.  Now, do you want me to fix this or not?" He teased, hoping to bring a lighter mood to her.

She hesitated for a moment, and then she nodded.  "Yeah, I want you to fix it." She furrowed her brows. "You still have your sonic?"

"Yes," he pulled it out of his trouser pocket, which was an odd place for him to have it, but he had been coat-less as of late and he didn't want to risk not having it with him. "I just couldn't use it in the cell. The Master knows how to outsmart sonic technology, considering he was raised around it.  Although, he might have paid a bit more attention in the Academy than I did."

"Oh," she said, shocked at the mention of Gallifrey, and wondering if more talk of it was to come. "I don't know if we've ever dealt with someone this smart before, Doctor."

"No, I don't think we have," he responded.  "Although, Rose, you really don't give yourself enough credit, for how absolutely brilliant you are."  He adjusted the sonic and looked at her carefully, searching her eyes for any sort of regret that might be piercing through against her will.  "May I?" He asked carefully.

She made a little sound of assent, something close to 'yeah' but breathier and less reassured, and nodded.  He set his hand opposite the biggest scar and ran the sonic over it, the blue light turning her skin the eerie color.  Rose watched in amazement as the scar closed up before her very eyes.  When he was done, the Doctor leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the skin that had just been healed.  Rose sucked in a sharp breath and he continued, patching her up, stitching her back together again.

"Do you remember when I got hurt on Debroine?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, you got a cut on your shoulder," Rose ran her hand over the very shoulder, "I had to patch you up, it was so deep."

He nodded. "I meant to remove it, but it was the next week when you-" he cleared his throat, "So I kept it."

Rose set about unbuttoning his shirt and moving his clothing so she could look.  It was a little scar, pink and white and just barely marring his freckles, but it was there.  She reached out and touched it with one finger. 

"Can I get rid of it for you?" She asked softly, "You don't need it any more. I'm here."

He almost didn't want to let her, in case he lost her again, but he also trusted her with his life, and so he handed her the sonic, already set to where she needed it.  She hovered the tool over the scar and erased it slowly, healing blue light spilling over his skin, bringing back freckles that had been sacrificed for the sake of a memory.

It was a moment more intimate than their kiss.  The Doctor had destroyed her, in more ways than one.  He had killed her when he flirted with other women, it had burned her to the ground when they had been separated.  This was a different Doctor that sat before her.  This was a Doctor that was devoted to her, and she could feel it in his touch and how he looked at her.  

"You love me?" She whispered.

"I've loved you for a long time, Rose," he replied, "I just never let myself admit it because I thought I'd lose you."

"And then you lost me," Rose replied. 

"Yeah," he said softly.  "I don't want... I refuse to lose you again.  I'm going to keep you close, forever."

She smiled, feeling her eyes burn a little from the tears she had already cried.  "You mean that."  It wasn't really a question, but the Doctor nodded anyway, making eye contact. She ran her hand through his hair, fingers grazing his scalp.  He smiled at her, acknowledging the movement of her shaky hand.  

"What are we, Doctor? What is this?"

The Doctor nodded again, more to himself. It was, of course, normal for her to want to know exactly what they were.  She would need to know, so she could feel safe and comfortable in their relationship.  It was a very human ideal, but he respected Rose, adored her beyond belief, and knew that she needed to hear it.  

"You are my world," he said simply, begging her to understand. "'Girlfriend' and 'wife' are words that can't fully explain what you mean to me," He cupped cheek, his hearts jumping a little when she leaned into his touch.  "You are mine, as much as I am yours.  We belong to no one but each other."

"Nobody else?" She asked. 

"Nobody else," he replied, "Just us for the rest of however long we have."

He finished mending her scars and got rid of the bruise that the Master gave her.  She pulled her top back on, adjusting it, and looked at him, still knelt before her.  He kissed her shoulder and moved up to look back at her.  "What do you say we try to escape now, eh?"

She grinned, the smile he loved so much coming back to life as she brushed her hair back.  "Yeah.  Let's get out of here."

He kissed her forehead and hauled her to her feet.  "That's my girl."


	16. Chapter 16

Donna was pacing in Althea's room, trying to figure out what she could do to help.  She looked over at Althea, who was sitting calmly at a chair in the kitchenette with her eyes closed.  The mood in the room was split firmly in half as Althea's gentle calm tried to permeate the room, but Donna's frustration and anger poured through, covering up that aura. After a few more moments of dead quiet aside from her feet on the floor, Donna turned, throwing her hands up.

"How can you be so calm?" She asked, resisting the urge to continue to pace.

"Rose Tyler's fever has broken," Althea said, opening her eyes, "And if anything I have heard is reassuring, it's that.  She will rally, and the Doctor with her."

"But she just... he humiliated her! The Master humiliated her in front of everyone."  Donna put her hands on her hips. "She'll probably slink back into a corner.  She's so _young_ , and she's been sick, it's just not-"

"All the more reason to get back at the Master.  No one likes their deepest secrets revealed, especially secrets like that." Althea cut her off and faced her fingers together in her lap and watched Donna carefully.  "I think...  She will seek revenge."

Donna shook her head. "No. The Doctor won't let her kill him."

"Who said Rose would be the one to kill him?"

Donna furrowed her brows and sat in the chair opposite Althea.  "Are you a fortune teller or something?  You seem to know a lot more than the rest of us. Would sure be nice if you'd said all of this before."

"One may tell many fortunes and not be a fortune teller," Althea replied, "I've seen your friends, I have observed you.  It is.... Remarkable, how they care for each other.  I think something brilliant will make them what they are."

"What does that mean?" Donna threw her hands up "I like you and all, Althea, but you are one cryptic woman."

Althea laughed and nodded her head. "We must all keep a few secrets, don't you think?"  She sighed, "But unfortunately, I think this is something that Rose and the Doctor must do themselves.  You and I are going to have to sit back and watch this."

Donna opened and closed her mouth, trying to understand. "But what about the... The speakeasy, or whatever, the hope for rebellion?  Isn't that still there?  You can't just leave it all to the Doctor!"

Althea nodded. "Of course it's still there. But now we have the man who was supposed to take care of it to begin with." She took Donna's hand across the table. "Don't you see, Donna?  The Doctor is a Time Lord, as is the Master.  They will fight because they are equals. And Rose will fight because she has made herself equal."

After a moment of silent confusion, Donna frowned. "What do you mean, she's made herself equal?  She's a human, she's not a Time Lord."

Althea tapped the side of her nose. "There are lots of things to consider.  One of those things must be that there are people capable of impossible things."

Donna blew out a sigh and slunk back in her sleep. "You know, I think if there's anyone that's capable of impossible, it's Rose Tyler."

"You know, I rather think so too."

*******

The Doctor and Rose had been trying to escape for about five hours, endlessly toiling, before Rose started to yawn. She was still trying to recover from her sudden sickness, and she didn't really have a lot of time to get better.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you must be tired," The Doctor moved to her side, cupping her cheek.  "Your fever is still gone, if that's any consolation?"

Rose smiled, a little weakly, "Nah, I'm fine.  But I need to get out of here," she patted his chest, "Let's go, yeah?  Come on, come on."

"The guards," he said simply, "we still need to find out a way to get out of there."

Rose nodded.  "You know, Doctor, I know you're a pacifist and all, but we're gonna have to kill them."

The Doctor sputtered, dropping his hand to her shoulder, not wanting to stop touching her completely. Rose giggled at his reaction and nodded slowly. He stared at her, unblinking, and finally said, "Rose, you know we don't... Well, we _usually_ don't, sometimes we do, but we don't kill people."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that.  I know that we don't kill people, but this isn't how... This isn't a normal situation, even for us," she crossed her arms. "They're not even people anymore, Doctor.  They've been fighting for the Master for so long and.... I don't think they have their own brains."

The Doctor's mouth set into a thin line. "You know, I have to agree," he said softly, "They're... I think their brains have been removed."

"Then what's that purple stuff in their helmets?" Rose asked, looking at the door as though she could see through it. 

He followed her gaze.  He had to acknowledge, somewhere deep inside himself, that Rose was right. There wasn't really anything they could do aside from kill the guards.  If the Master was eliminated, through whichever means he was eliminated, the guards would be brainless sponges that could have no real lives.  The Doctor had seen people that that had happened to.  

She looked up at him again, waiting for the wheels in his head to stop turning. He met her gaze and nodded.  

"But how?" She whispered, utter compassion showing in her eyes.  He hadn't thought of the things Rose had had to do while they were apart, but he had a feeling that she had done more than he thought she had.  And yet, here she was, not hardened by anything that she had had to endure while they were apart.  She was still kind and gentle, but strong as fire.  He smiled a little at her spirit. 

He stroked the backs of his fingers along her jaw. "I know you don't really want to do this," he said.

She breathed a sigh of relief.  "I mean... I just... No, I don't want to, but there's no other way. We've already escaped the jail and tried to start a revolution, and it didn't work.  So this is what we need to do."

"You've seen things," he voiced his earlier thoughts. 

She shook her head.  "No more than you have, Doctor. I promise."

"Tell me."

"Not now," she said, "This is more important. Right here, right now. Not my past, not your past. Here."

He nodded. He wasn't going to get her to budge, and he usually couldn't.  She tipped her forehead against his chest and murmured, "Tell me their weakness. We have to get down to the Master.  We have to get rid of him."

The Doctor skimmed his hand up her back.   "I know."

"Was he your brother?" Rose asked softly. "I can tell you were close.  This isn't..."

"No, he wasn't my brother," the Doctor replied, "But we did grow up like brothers.  But he was always odd.  He was always different. He saw time, as you did, but he was exposed to it for a shorter amount of time.  It drove him mad instead of doing anything like it did to you."

"I'm sure it did something to me," she said, patting his back before pulling back to look him in the face. 

He wanted to bring up the gold he'd seen in her eyes the first time the Master was in her head, but he wasn't sure that it was time for that. It might never be time for that.  He nodded, staring deep into her eyes, trying to see something there that might not have been there before.  

"Let's go," she said, "Let's do this."

He nodded again, feeling like a bobble head, like he couldn't do anything else.  He sniffed and looked away from her, feeling a bit overwhelmed by her.  "I'll have to scan them through the door for their weakness."

"Okay," She said softly.  She followed him to the door.  He pulled out his sonic and pressed it to the door, activating it.  He listened at the door and watched the readings as they poured in.  When he pulled the sonic back, he looked at it and then at Rose. 

"The middle of the back. It's where the master started destroying their nerves, up into the brain stem." The Doctor looked over the rest of the sonic.  "I'll have to shock them, it'll shut the rest of their brains down."

"If their brain stems are destroyed, or nonexistent, then how do they walk or move or anything?" She asked. 

He smiled a little. "Look at you, asking all the right questions again.  You were right, Rose, they're not people anymore. There's no personality, no brain activity.  It looks like once the Master is out of the picture, they'll be empty shells.  Well, more so than they are now."

"Yeah," Rose pursed her lips. "I thought so.  So what are we going to do?"

"We'll have to do it fast," he said, "The sonic doesn't kill. It deactivates. I wouldn't be able to do anything if they were still real, living beings."

"Are their hearts beating?"

"What?"

"Are their hearts beating?" She said, slower this time.

"Yes," he said, "Why?"

"Then they are still real, living things," she told him, "They _are._ We have to respect that, somehow."

"He'll pay for this, Rose, what he did to destroy those families," he reached out and tipped her chin up so that she was looking at him., "I promise, Rose, this is something that won't go unpunished."

"You?  You're going to punish him?" She shook her head, "No, Doctor, it'll kill you. He's one of your own. You gotta let me do it."

"I am absolutely not letting you do it. You can't."

"Yes I can!"

"I'm not letting you!" He shouted. "I'm not! You mean more to me than he does.  He was my friend, once upon a time, but he's tortured me, and now he's tortured you, and I won't let him get away with this. Not after what he's done to you. The second he laid a hand on you, the second he entered your mind, he signed his life away."

Rose swallowed, a little surprised at his temper.  She wanted to touch him, but was a little afraid to.

Sensing her fear, and never wanting her to be afraid of him.  He sagged, his shoulder against the door.  "Come here," He said softly.

She shuffled forward to hug him, wrapping her arms around his neck.  He held her around the waist, nose pressed into her neck.  She giggled a little and before he could ask her what she was laughing at, she told him. "You know, it's kinda weird.  We're never this sappy about our adventures."

"We weren't snogging through our last adventures," he reminded her.  "Besides, a lot has happened to both of us since the last time we had an adventure together."

She clutched him tighter and pressed a kiss to the back of his jaw. "I love you," she murmured. "Tell me what to do."

"I love you," he said, and though he was reluctant to get her too involved in this, he was not stupid enough to leave her out of his plans. He wasn't really fancying the thought of her slapping him. He sighed, closing his eyes.  "Alright.  I have a plan."

"Oh, that's a change!" 

He pinched her side and she giggled.  He blew out another sigh. 

He was afraid this wasn't going to end well, but he was not about to back down.  The Doctor disappeared, and the Oncoming Storm took his place, erasing the sense of compassion towards anyone but Rose (and Donna, of course.  He had not forgotten her).  When the Doctor pulled back and looked at Rose, he could tell that she recognized the change. She nodded slowly and got to her feet. She held her hand down for his and he pulled himself up, holding her hand in his left, the sonic clutched tightly in his right.  Understanding passed between them, and for the first time since they'd been brought back together, their hearts fell into sync.

It was all coming to a head, and he was going to finish this.

_Now._


	17. Chapter 17

A heavy weight settled over the Doctor and Rose as he unlocked the door to their penthouse prison and shocked the guards with the sonic. They went down heavily and Rose winced when they hit the ground. Rose had seen brutality. While she had been working at Torchwood, she had _been_ brutality. This was different. They had been people, but their lives were stripped from the, their minds erased and replaced with purple Jello brains.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked her quietly, noticing her expression. She pursed her lips and nodded.

"'M always alright."

"Well, now I know you're not alright. That's usually my line."

She smiled at him, a little sadly, a little sympathetically. "Well, I think today it might belong to both of us."

The hallway was quiet and they crept along quietly. The Doctor reached out and took her hand in his, watching her to make sure that she was alright. She smiled at him, because of course they were not going to be alright. This was something they had never faced together, because they'd always mourned together and tried to find something, some way to save everyone. Of course, more often than not for the Doctor, that rarely happened.

"Where do you think he is?" Rose whispered as they moved closer to the elevator.

"Don't know." The Doctor shook his head. "I think we should try and find Donna and Althea."

Rose nodded. "Yeah, sure. How are we gonna find them? We can't knock on every single bloody door."

"Do you have your mobile?"

Rose handed him her cellular, a confused look on her face. "Does she have hers?"

"I dunno."

"Do you have her number memorized?"

"Yeah. Have yours memorized too," he gave her an odd look, like 'obviously' and looked back down at her phone. "I only remember the numbers worth remembering."

She laughed a little. "All this time you remembered it?"

He smiled happily at her. "How could I not remember? Now hush." He dialed a number on her phone and pressed it to his ear. "Donna!" He said when she answered, "Meet us in the lobby."

Before Donna could even get a word out he hung up and he tossed Rose her phone back. She shoved it into her pocket and watched him for any sort of regret or upset. There was none. Then again, the Doctor had always been very good at hiding, and she wasn't going to ask him about it, not now. She was sure that now, more than ever, he would talk to her. She hoped.

Their trip down the elevator was unhindered, which surprised her, but the Doctor knew that the Master was aware of their escape, of the murder of his guards. He wasn't about to bring that up to Rose, didn't want to make her nervous. He could already feel how clammy she was, and because of his superior biology he could feel her heart pounding heavily, her anxiety ratcheting up.

"We'll be alright," He said softly as the lift descended.

"I believe you," she said softly, because she did, because she trusted the Doctor with her life and would trust him with her forever.When the lift lowered all the way and the doors opened, Donna and Althea stood in a far corner. The Master and two more guards stood in front of the lift. A slow, wicked smile crawled across his face and he cocked his head.

"Nice to see you again. You killed my guards."

"Well, that was good of you to notice, considering the trouble we went through to do so."

"You don't kill, Doctor, you never have."

The Doctor's eyes flashed with anger. "Except you'd already killed them. They weren't people anymore."

  
"Doctor," The Master rolled his eyes, "You and your pathetic little humans. It's sad, really. You were half a second from shagging this one, I'm sure." He waved a dismissive hand at Rose and she felt her blood start to boil. Next to her, the Doctor clenched his jaw.

"You're just trying to change the subject," he accused, "But you will not speak of her like that, do you understand me?"

"You don't command me!" The Master roared, and Rose half wanted to slip away. There was a lot between these two, plenty of anger and a buried friendship that would never be recovered. This time, however, the Doctor was not squeezing her hand. He was holding it gently, not wanting her to get away but also not hurting her. She could've kissed him, it made her heart ache so.

Although, many things that Doctor did made her want to kiss him.

The Master got into the Doctor's personal space, breathing heavily through his nose. "What happens if I take your pets, eh? Then what happens to you? What will you do?"

"They aren't my pets. They're humans, sentient beings, and if you could see that, you wouldn't be trying to take over a planet that belongs to them." The Doctor was firm but clearly trying not to let any emotion show in his voice. He couldn't, Rose understood, or it would be the chink in the armor that the Master would be looking for and then he would go in for the kill.

The Master turned his gaze to her. "And if I took her," he said, as though the Doctor hadn't even spoken, "You would be destroyed, wouldn't you. You'd be bloody destroyed!"

Rose practically felt the Doctor clench his other fist. The heat of anger radiated between the three of it, and Rose knew instantly that someone was going to get hurt. "I'd forgiven you," the Doctor said slowly, "I gave you the release of forgiveness before you died, refused to regenerate. And how does that work? What are you now? You're worse! Do you still hear the drums, eh? Do you?"

The Master cried out as though the Doctor had physically struck him. He stepped back. "That's not- you can't!"

"Beat the drum."  
Althea stood up as she spoke, and the other people in the lobby looked around at each other, afraid of what would happen to her, or any of them, really. The Master whipped around to look at her, his shoulders pulled up to his ears, tension pouring off him in waves. "What did you say?"

"Beat the drum," she replied, not bothering to be any quieter about it. "Go on, then, that's all you have to do, isn't it?"

"It'll kill me."

"Of course," The Doctor pulled Rose out of the lift, where they had been cornered, "He's fighting the vortex."

"What do you mean?" Donna called.

"He looked into the vortex at a young age, handled it better than Rose did, and he wasn't exposed to it in a pure fashion like she was, but it's in his mind."  
"Alright, well, you don't' have to talk about me like I'm not here," The Master grumbled. The Doctor grinned.

"So, like, does that mean he's the Bad Wolf too?" Rose asked.

"No. Your power was born out of love. His is born out of anger and the desire for power,' He shot a glare at someone who he had once considered his friend. "Isn't that how this game is played? Especially to you?"

"It's always been about power for you," The Master spat. "It is. You hold enormous power over the people of Earth. You could let them burn."

"But I never would!" The Doctor shouted, "Which is what makes me better than you."

"Beat the drum," Althea stared Rose down as she said it and Rose felt her mouth draw open. She'd figured it out. The key to all of this, to end everything as it had begun, at least for her. Rose inhaled slowly, hearing the two men argue. This would never end if they were the ones in charge. She looked at the terrified faces of the people in the lobby.

It was up to her. Maybe this was the reason she had been allowed to come home. Maybe this was it. She felt her heart drop and she looked at the Doctor. She didn't want to leave him, not yet, not now, before her years were up, but the Master would get to these people. He would kill their spirits and then he would kill them, like they were worth nothing at all. She bit her lip. She didn't want to. She didn't want to. But she, Rose Tyler, was defender of the universe, and this planet was part of the universe. It was up to her. She looked down at where her hand met the Doctor's. She brought his knuckles to her mouth and pressed a kiss to them, looking up at his surprised face. He'd stopped fighting, his yelling come to a complete stop, to focus in on her.

"Rose, what-"

"Beat the drum," Althea said again, and Donna clenched her jaw. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she could tell that it was something big, and judging by the look on Rose's face, it wasn't going to end well.

"Oh, that's all?" Rose calmly let go of the Doctor's hand, mostly so he wouldn't feel how terribly he was shaking.. He grappled to reach for her again and she looked back at him. "Forgive me," She whispered, feeling tears already building up in her eyes. She strode up to the Master, who was rooted to the spot in shock. 

"Doctor, control your pet," he said in a harsh tone, not taking his eyes from Rose.  He looked wary, like he knew she was up to something, but didn't know what she was capable of.

 She reached up, tears spilling over her cheeks, and pressed her fingers to his temples and closed her eyes. She let it rush back, called it up, bringing the gold strands of her essence up to flow into the Master's mind. She heard him scream, but it sounded distant, like he wasn't right next to her. She heard the Doctor scream her name in pained anguish.  

Rose pushed her consciousness into his, not sure how or why she was doing it, but only knowing that it would help the Doctor.   _Help the Doctor, the Doctor... The Doctor._ She cried out as the Master tried to fight her.  He reached up and touched her temples, trying to push into her mind.  Still, she had the TARDIS on her side, in her mind, and so they both pushed against the Master. His fingers slipped against her temples and he grunted with the exertion of trying to beat her.  She wouldn't let him, wouldn't let him get into her mind.  Not again. She was stronger than him. 

She was stronger than Jimmy Stone. 

A Time Lord loved her. 

She could _destroy_ the enemy of the man she loved.  

The Doctor just kept crying out to her, calling her name over and over, trying to get to her.  She felt his hand on her shoulder, trying to tug her back, but it wouldn't work.  She was stronger than him, now.  She was stronger than everyone, and she needed to finish this.

A whirlwind of emotion and power surged through her, making her veins feel hot.  She pushed her fingers tighter against the Master's temples.  He pulled his hands from her head and grabbed her wrists, trying to pull her back.  She stepped closer to him, feeling as though she was flying.  She didn't feel anything but the pulsing around her and the fire in her blood.  There was no ground beneath her, no walls.  

She could only feel the presence of the Doctor, Althea, and Donna. Anybody else did not exist in her world.  They were all calling to her now... And she could hear the Doctor- crying?  Why was he crying?  She filled herself with rage, thinking it was the Master angering him so.  

"Rose, stop!" The Doctor shouted, sounding hysterical.  He stood behind her and grabbed her shoulders.  She felt herself whimper.  Tears were still spilling down her cheeks, and she couldn't understand why.

She heard her own voice, echoing in her head.  

"My Doctor."

"Rose, _please!"_ His fingers dug into her skin, and she let go, feeling the Master slipping away from her.

As she felt the Master lose consciousness, she fell back into the Doctor, her world fading to black.


	18. Chapter 18

The Master and Rose collapsed at about the same time, but the Doctor went forward like a shot to grab Rose as she fell.  There was no question as to who he was going to save from the hit of the floor.  He caught her about the waist as she fell against him and collapsed to the floor with her, breaking her fall. He pressed his fingers to her pulse point and found it faint. 

“We have to get her back to the TARDIS.” He said, and it wasn’t up for discussion, but Donna had never been one to respond to his authority. 

“No, we have to take care of the Master first,” she said firmly.

The Doctor looked up at her with more sorrow in his eyes than she had ever seen. “I think she’s dying,” he whispered softly, looking back down into Rose’s tear streaked, ashen face.  “Please, don’t die.”

  
Donna bit her lip and looked at Althea.  The other woman only nodded. This was how it had to be, after all. They were supposed to end this way.  Rose was to destroy the Master.  Without a word, Althea moved to the Master’s side and felt  his  pulse point, and she looked at the Doctor.    


“He is not dead.”

“She’s fried his brain,” the Doctor explained, “But by extension, she’s also fried hers.  

Althea pursed her lips and nodded. It was unfair, truly, that Rose hadn’t even been successful in her endeavour.  She looked up at the people who were still looking down at them, wide eyed and afraid. “Come. Lift the tyrant. We will put him in his own dungeon until the Doctor decides what to do with him. Come now.”

She grabbed one of the Master’s arms and the rest of the people crowded around, lifting the man like it was some sort of secret ceremony, to dispose of him.  They carried him out of sight until only the Doctor, Donna, and Rose remained in the room.

The Doctor was shaking, his hand touching Rose’s cheek as though he had never had the pleasure to do so.  “I can’t lose her, not now,” he looked up at Donna. “They’ll take care of him. I need to take care of her.”

Donna reached over and felt Rose’s wrist, sensing the pulse and locating it. It was weak, more of a flutter than a beat, and certainly not normal for a human girl.  It also felt odd, the rhythm unpredictable and strangely echoed, like her insides were hollow.

“Does she still have brain activity?” She asked, knowing what she was suggesting but knowing that it had to be suggested to restore the Doctor’s sanity.  He looked grimly down at Rose’s face. 

“I don’t want to go into her mind if it’s empty,” he said softly.

“You don’t know that it’s empty.”

“I don’t think I want to.” 

He got to his feet, hoisting Rose up. She was dead weight, her arm flopping away from her body, dangling over the Doctor’s feet. He bit back tears and hoisted her higher so he could cradle her against him.  “Donna, come with me.”

She followed him wordlessly this time. He was truly in pain, she could see it in the slouch of his shoulders and the way he whispered to Rose as though she could hear him speak.  He pressed his lips to her forehead numerous times on the way back to the Time Ship, but it was hard to tell if he was doing it to see if her temperature was still sustaining her or if it was just out of affection.  Donna wasn’t sure that he could tell the difference any more. 

“Can you save her?” Donna asked finally as she fished out her TARDIS key and unlocked the door so that the Doctor could step through. 

  
“I don’t know,” He admitted, sounding defeated. He looked mournfully back at Donna. “I told her I wanted her to stay inside.  I  told  her. If she would’ve just listened to me for once and done as she was told, this wouldn’t have happened.”   


“And the Master would still be in power and we would still have no clue how to beat him. You’d probably still be arguing with him in the lobby there. Don’t you understand that?  Rose saved us both today.”

The Doctor nodded and started to head out towards the med bay. “I know she did,” he said softly, “I know she saved me.  She always does.”

“See?” Donna said, following him but not walking next to him, not wanting to look at Rose’s waxy complexion if she could help it.  

“She’ll never know,” he said softly. “I told her I love her, but I didn’t show her.”

“Doctor.  What happened in that room?”

The Doctor blew out a shaky sigh and shook his head. It was his universal sign for ‘we’ll talk about this later’ or, more commonly, ‘we won’t talk about it at all’.  He walked the rest of the way to the med bay in silence, and Donna followed because she could tell that the Doctor wanted her to.  He lay Rose down on the bed and started hooking wires up to her.  He talked to her softly, told her what he was doing, like she could hear him.  And maybe she could. Donna wasn’t sure how his species worked, that was for sure.  And of course, Rose was no ordinary human. Anyone could see that.

“What do you think, Rose?” he asked softly, hooking an IV to her arm. “I know you don’t like these, but it’s sort of necessary, I need to test your blood.”

Donna sat in a chair on the edge of the bed, looking at Rose’s face because she couldn’t bear not to anymore. This woman had started to feel like a sister to her, and while she knew it wasn’t near anything like the pain the Doctor was feeling, she would feel a deep, resonating sorrow if Rose died.

“Doctor.  She knows,” Donna said finally.

The Doctor blinked back tears and inhaled sharply. He shook his head. “Not properly, not the Time Lord way.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know how she did it.’

“What? The gold stuff?” Donna asked, confused.

It pained the Doctor to do so, but Donna had a right to know, and so the Doctor told her the story of how Rose had become the Bad Wolf and saved them (saved Jack eternally, though she still didn’t know that yet) and how she had destroyed herself in the process.  He explained regeneration, and how he’d literally died for her, the taste of death stolen from her on a kiss sweet as you like.  He pulled a chair out to be right next to the bed after covering her with a light sheet.  He took her hand in his and watched her face carefully. 

“She shouldn’t have been able to do it.”

“Do what?  I mean, you took all of the vortex out of her, right?” Donna asked, leaning forward a little. 

“I thought so,” he admitted, “I was wrong, apparently.  She called it up.”

Donna furrowed her brows. “What do you mean, ‘she called it up’?”

  
“I didn't’ realize that the Bad Wolf was  part  of her, I only know that it’s associated with her, that Bad Wolf and Rose Tyler are synonymous.” He blew out his cheeks. “She still possesses that persona.  She…. She asked me to forgive her before she went into the Master’s mind. It ripped his mind apart, but it got hers too. I think she knew that would happen.”   


“She sacrificed herself for you.”

“Again,” The Doctor said miserably.

  
“Oi, she’s devoted to you.”   
“Every time she has died, it’s been my fault,’ the Doctor said lowly, “I killed her with the Bad Wolf, I killed her when we were separated. I kill her over and over and she’s human, she can’t  take  much more of this, much more of me.”   


Donna felt anger rising in her bones. “So what, you think that she’s going to leave you, after all this?”

He stroked his fingers along her cheek, a gesture so tender that Donna thought her heart might explode from it.  He nodded.  

“If she survives.”

“She has no family, Doctor!” Donna knew she was shouting, but of course, someone had to throw this alien sod in his place. “She loves you, was crushed when you wouldn’t touch her other to crawl in bed with her at night. She wanted every piece of you that you could offer, and if that means she has to die for you, that’s what she’s going to do. You’re her everything, Doctor, especially now. Don’t turn her away.”

His eyes snapped to hers. “I would never turn her away,” he said harshly, “I couldn’t. But if she wants to leave, I’m not going to keep her here, like she’s a prisoner,  I will not behave like the monster I am!”

“You were only a monster because you didn't have her!”

It took a moment to set in, but that moment was so charged with anger that the Doctor could barely see straight. But, deep down inside himself, a tiny voice admitted that Donna Noble was very much correct. He had given no regard for his own safety, would have destroyed himself eventually, if he didn’t have a companion with him.  He needed someone, yes, but as much as he loved them, it was never going to be Donna or Martha. 

He looked back at Rose. “She didn't think I was a monster,” he said softly, “She never did. She always made me feel…”

  
“Human.”   
“She’ll grow tired of me.”   
“She won’t.”   


  
“She burst through the walls of time and space to come back to you, and you hadn't even told her that you loved her then. If that is  not  dedication, then you’d better go on and tell me what is, because no one has ever loved me that much.”   


He set his mouth into a grim line. “I’ve been alive for almost a millennium.”

“Yeah, and?”

“I’ve  loved before, in many times, many ways, and many depths.”

“Obviously.”

  
He turned to her, and his eyes were the most vulnerable she had ever seen them.  He swallowed hard. “I have  never  loved anyone like I love her.”   


Donna smiled softly. “I know,” she whispered. “Now, I take it you’ll set up vigil here, won’t you?”

He nodded, not looking at her. She nodded. She’d expected as much from the moment he’d planted himself in that chair and taken her hand.  

“Well, then, you go on and have the TARDIS send a pair of jimjams for you in here, and I’m going to make us tea, alright?  Do you want me to go back to the hotel? I can watch the Master there.”

  
“They have it covered there.”   
“Yeah, well they aren’t me,” Donna said confidently.  She watched him for another moment.  “Do you need a hug?”   


  
The Doctor’s face crumpled and he got to his feet, his head hanging like a child who had been brutally scolded. He still held Rose’s hand, and he reached out his other hand for Donna.  She felt her motherly instincts take over and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, giving him a bear hug.  He sobbed openly then, his fear of losing Rose ratcheting up until he let himself finally feel it, let himself  feel, and love.   It was a catharsis of emotion that the Doctor had not experienced for a very long time.    


“I’m gonna make us that tea, and you take some medicine for the whopper headache you’re going to have after crying like that,” Donna said several long minutes later when he pulled off of her and thunked heavily back into his chair, sniffling.  “I know you can’t take any aspirin, but certainly you have something?”

He wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Yeah.  I have some stuff.”

“Good.”

When she brought the tea back, he had changed into jimjams, his suit folded and set in a corner.  He held Rose’s hand to his lips and kept glancing over his shoulder at a computer that held her vitals.  He looked at Donna with red rimmed eyes. 

“No change,” he whispered.

“I’ll go back to the hotel,” she said, “I’ll be more useful there. You’ve got this covered.” she set his tea on the table and watched him look blearily at it.  “Doctor, did you hear me?”

He forced a little smile and nodded. “Yes. Please make sure they don’t do anything to him before I get there.” 

I.  He said it like Rose wasn’t coming with him.  And she had  never  heard a please from him. “Of course,” she said.  She patted his shoulder and disappeared from the room and shut the door behind her. It was going to be a very long night for the both of them.


	19. Chapter 19

Rose felt as though she was swimming in a sea of gold that hadn’t existed before. She was aware of sensations but unable to respond to them, leaving herself in a viewing shell.  Her senses were alert, but only just. Everything sounded like it was far, far away, and she had to strain to hear.

Is this what being in a coma felt like? It certainly seemed like it.  She heard every cry from the Doctor, every word from Donna.  She felt an IV poke into her arm and she felt the Doctor hold her hand.  

Nothing moved, not really. She was, somehow, aware of the shift of time, of it pushing through her mind and taking control. She could see the Doctor clearly even though she didn’t have her eyes open.  She could breathe but couldn’t recall ever needing to. Her chest felt hollow and full all at the same time, like there was an echo, as though she didn't have any insides.  

It occurred to her, the weight of what she had done.  Her life with the Doctor had, for the most part, always been dictated by love, by a force so powerful she couldn’t be bothered to save herself. This was one of those moments. She had said goodbye to him, and she wondered if she had destroyed the Master.   If she hadn’t, this would all be for nothing, and that was one thing she wasn’t sure that she could live with. 

After all, she was in a coma.  She was dying.

****

Donna returned to the hotel, embracing the people who hysterically embraced her when she entered.  They were panicked, of course, and though under normal circumstances Donna was not the best for comfort, she was feeling exceptionally compassionate tonight. 

“Where’s Althea?”

She was led downstairs to the dungeon where the Doctor and Rose had been kept.  The Master looked like Rose did up in the TARDIS, waxen and his hair soaked in sweat, as though he’d been under a powerful fever for a very long time.  

Althea sat by the cell, looking into the cell. She didn’t see Donna enter, but she said, “How fares Rose Tyler?”

“The Doctor thinks she’s going to die.  It seems like he’s almost certain of it,” Donna sat next to her new friend, feeling suddenly exhausted. “He just found hr again, and he’s gonna lose her.”

“No,” Althea shook her head. “The Time Lord’s line always changes, that I know.  Today… Today is the day that he finds something, I believe.”

Donna bit her lip. “He says that Rose knew how he felt, but he never told her.  How does that work?”

Althea was quiet for a moment. The room was silent, because the people in the hotel were afraid to speak.  Men held their wives as they wept, but no one knew what they were weeping for, not really.  Donna set her jaw. She almost felt like they had no right to cry over Rose, when the Doctor was all alone with her, struggling to keep her alive.  

“Time Lords have a mental connection, as I am sure you’ve seen,” Althea said finally, bringing Donna’s attention back to her.  Donna’s head snapped back to her. 

“Yeah, that’s how Rose took down the Master, right?”

“It is painful, the way the Master and Rose fought in their minds.  Incredibly painful.  But there is a component to it that bonded pairs experienced.” Before Donna could respond, Althea held up a hand and said “Married. What the Doctor was expressing to you was a desire to marry Rose.”

Donna felt her heart plummet. “He was going to propose.”

“The two of them belong together,” Althea said. “Of course, one can exist quite easily without the other, but… A love like that, it would destroy one of them.”

Donna remembered the first time she had met the Doctor, when he had been so full of an anger and rage that hadn’t been present in the man she had met just a few hours previous, She knew, of course, that he had just lost Rose then.  It was destroying him, and probably would’ve ripped him apart for a very long time thereafter. 

“What will happen if she dies?” Donna asked quietly, almost afraid to voice the option.

Althea lowered her eyes. “He will die,” she gestured to the Master, “But so will the Doctor. It does not do the heart good to lose the same love twice. Even if you have two hearts.”

“And if the Master dies?” Donna said anxiously, “That won’t kill Rose, will it?”

Althea shook her head. “No.  From what I can tell, because Rose initiated mental contact, he is very much at her mercy.  She is still holding onto his mind, because she doesn’t wish to kill him.”

“Yeah, I had a feeling it would be something like that.”

“How fares the Doctor?”

“Bad.”

  
Althea gave a mournful chuckle. “I would expect nothing less.  He… I  hope,  at least, that he will bring her back from the precipice on sheer love alone.”   


Donna smiled a little, “If anyone can do it, than I think it might be those two.”

“Oh.  I agree.”

They sat still for a while longer. The Master did not move, and Donna wondered if he was even still breathing. She wanted to go into the cell and check, but she had a feeling that Althea would not allow her.  Besides, that man had done so much damage that she wasn’t sure she wanted to be anywhere near his presence.  He was a kind of evil that Donna had a feeling she would never be able to comprehend in her own human mind. 

The Doctor, however… Maybe he would want to see his old friend one last time. The logical part of her told her that was true, but she was also fully aware that he would not leave Rose’s side, even if it meant leaving his oldest friend to die.

No movement from the Master meant no movement for everybody else.  There was  stillness settled over the room, but sound was available, the short sounds of cut off cries fo fear and sadness.  These people had just come for a vacation or a business trip. 

“You can go home now,” Donna said with a sort of finality, “Anyone who came from off the planet can go home.”

Althea smiled at Donna.  “When this is over, we will go home.  The people of this world can finally be happy again.  Why the Master chose to set up shop in this hotel instead of a palace, I will never understand.”

  
Donna shrugged, “Maybe the Doctor would know.  I could get him to come back, I think, if I asked-”   


  
“No,” Althea said firmly.  “If he leaves Rose Tyler’s side and she dies, he will never forgive himself.”   


  
“You really think she’s gonna die?”   


  
“I think that he thinks that way, yes.”   


  
Donna would have asked further questions if she thought it would get her anywhere. She had a feeling Althea would only speak her mind without prompting.  Nothing Donna was trying to say would actually get any of them anywhere.  So she sat back, slumping a little.  There was nothing left.  And playing the waiting game after traveling the universe was very difficult indeed.    


  
*****   


  
It hurt, and she wasn’t sure why.  There was a pounding in her head that far surpassed any headache that she had ever had before. At first, it had been peaceful, the floating between life and death, the touch of both in her skin.    


  
Now, though, there was only pain, and she could feel her eyebrows scrunching together on her physical body while the psyche in her mind tried to fight its way out.     


  
If this was what death felt like, she wished it would end soon. It didn’t feel normal or like anything she could ever explain, should she survive it.  It felt like someone was angry at her, digging into her and holding her down.  She couldn’t be saved from this, she knew that, even as she fought against it.    


  
It was such an odd time, her body fighting itself.  There was a lot to be said, about people who stayed alive based on will power. She always felt that she was one of those people, who could get through anything, who could fight until the bitter end.    


  
She could feel the weight of the Doctor’s hand in hers. His thumb rubbed restlessly over the back of her hand, as though he thought a familiar sensation would bring her back.  She could feel the rumble of his voice as he spoke to her but she never understood any real words. She wasn’t sure he was saying any.  Maybe he was speaking Gallifreyan?  That would explain a lot of it.   


  
Although she felt like hell, she still tried to push against it.  There was a fire to her that hadn’t gone out just yet, but she was ready for it to. If there was something to fight for, that made it harder to die, no matter how much she thought she might want to.   


  
If there was one things he learned, it was that there was always something to fight for.  Now, though, floating through the space that existed in her own mind, she wasn’t sure that there was anything worth fighting for.    


  
He would move on. That’s what he did, he moved on, and he took himself with him, leaving nothing with her. She was sure that he had moved on before, from Sarah Jane and all the rest.  This was nothing new.   


  
She fought with herself, and whatever illness she was fighting. The Bad Wolf flitted in and out of her mind, taunting her, telling her what to do, until Rose felt as though was an intruder in her own brain.   


  
Something told her, painfully, that she did not belong here.  She was useless, useless to the Doctor and useless to save anyone. But the Bad Wolf was a part of herself, did that mean she thought that way about herself?   


  
In the distance, as though it wasn’t truly happening to her own body, she felt sweat break out on her forehead.  Her blood felt as though it was boiling and she wasn’t sure where to turn to cool off, to make it better.    


  
She cried out in her own mind, scrabbling for the Doctor, and she felt more than heard a whimper emerge from her throat.  The cool press of the Doctor’s palm touched her forehead and she breathed out a sigh of relief. He murmured sweet words that she couldn’t understand into her ear, and she turned towards him, feeling as though he was the sun and she hadn’t seen him in a thousand years.    


  
It was a beautiful thought, the thought of what he meant to her, but it was never meant to last.  The vision that she had held on to, inside of her head, started to wane and blur and she could no longer comprehend the ins and outs of her world.  Was it even real? Was anything real?   


  
She struggled against her own body and felt the Doctor pin her wrist down so she wouldn’t hurt herself, maybe to keep the IV in.  She distantly realized that she was writhing, almost seizing with a sort of pain that was unbearable.  Her brain felt like it was on the verge of exploding from the inside and she couldn’t breathe.  He was still talking, in English now, telling her she would be alright, to  please  come back to him, because he couldn’t do it without her.   


  
Every part of Rose’s being wanted to fight to get back to him, but she couldn’t fight anymore.  Her body was so tired and she felt as though she could never function again.  She reached for the Doctor, but he just seemed too far away, and it was because of that that Rose Tyler did the one thing she had never done before.    


She gave up.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have one or two more chapters planned I think.
> 
> Alright I need opinions here!!! I wrote a Human Nature AU like 10000 years ago, would you guys like if I remastered/rewrote it and posted it here as my next fic?
> 
> Please review!! EnJoy!

When Rose flat lined, an alarm started going off in the TARDIS and the Doctor went utterly mad.  After only one second of panic, he stared administering CPR, pressing down on her chest and murmuring to her with the clanging of the alarm in the background. After several beats he tried mouth-to-mouth.  Several minutes of that told him that that wasn't going to do anything.  There had to be something stronger to try.

 He had a defibrillator on hand and pulled it out, not wasting a moment in shocking Rose with the paddles.  Her body jolted but her heard didn't start.  He didn't give up, he had to keep trying.

He couldn't lose her.  Not like this. He was supposed to be pulled from her by death only, because he was going to _make sure_ that she lived for hundreds of years, really, he was going to make sure of it.  He needed her forever.  

"Rose, please!  Don't you give up on me!  You've never given up, you made it back to me, you did this, you got home!  You can't give up on me now! I will never give up on you, do you hear me, Rose, never!" 

He knew he was babbling, knew that he wasn't making any sense, but he was blinded by the thought of being without her.  It was more than he would be able to bear.  

She wasn't breathing, and her face was ashen.  It was odd to see her face like that. Even in sleep, she was animated, her beautiful smile lighting her face at all times, even if was just a gentle curve of her lips.  He knew that he would outlive her, or at least suspected it, but he had never imagined having to bury her.  It was a painful thought, and he knew that if he was going to bury her, he was going to do it the Time Lord way, because she deserved to be absolutely honored.  

He fought, giving her CPR again, gently pressing up against her chest, making her body shift awkwardly on the medical bed.  He felt his face crumple with tears and tried not to let them up. This wasn't _fair._ Why was he never allowed to win? Why was he never allowed to have Rose?  This was all he wanted.  

"Please, Rose," he said, begging, his voice clogged with emotion. "Please! Please, please!"  He picked up the defibrillator again and tried shocking her, and her heart beat once before stuttering out again. He knew that there were only so many times he could try something to help her, but he had to keep trying. 

****

In the hotel, Donna and Althea and the rest of the people in the hotel saw the Master's body shake and seize, like he was having some sort of episode. 

"What's going on?" Donna asked, getting to her feet.  Althea followed and soon everybody else was on their feet as well. 

"Rose Tyler is dead."

The people in the room all gasped, having heard her say so. Donna felt her heart plummet straight into her feet.

Donna shook her head. "No. No, the Doctor wouldn't let that happen." She protested, looking around at the room.  All the people standing there had gone dead silent, and raised their right hands to the left sides of their chests, fingers splaying up to their collarbones.  Donna stared at all of them.  "What are they doing?  What's going on?"

"They are mourning."

"No." Donna shook her head. "That's not going to happen.  Make sure the Master doesn't go anywhere," she shook her finger at Althea, who nodded, her eyes sad.  Donna took off, back to the TARDIS.  The Doctor didn't need to be alone when this was happening. 

"Doctor!" she burst through the doors.  The TARDIS was flashing lights down the hall and to the med bay. An alarm rang, one monotone note that told her all she needed to know.  

The Doctor was standing over Rose, giving her CPR, tears streaming down his face.  And then, after he collapsed onto the chair next to her bed and pressed his forehead to her stomach, weeping openly, something very peculiar started to happen.  

She breathed out, though her heart was not breathing.  Gold flowed from her mouth, and Donna's brow furrowed.  She had a feeling that this wasn't something normal that happened to humans in any situation.  And then, ever so slowly, her hand moved and pushed into the Doctor's hair.  He stopped crying, his hands shaking.  He didn't lift his head, just whimpered, like he was staring to have phantom touches. 

It happened again, more gold, this time with an audible breath.

"Doctor, look at her.  What's going on?" Donna asked, not daring to step into the room.

He looked up, dislodging her hand from his hair, and gasped softly.  He reached out and laid his hand over the center of her chest.  Then, he took her hand in his and felt her pulse gently, cradling her hand delicately.  

"Rose," he kissed her hand. "Rose?"

"What's going on?"

"She's coming back," he said in awe, "I don't understand." He kissed Rose's hand again.  "Oh, you remarkable woman, come back to me, precious girl."

Her brow furrowed and she seemed to be fighting against something. Her mouth moved and her head lolled to the side.

"What's she doing?  Is her heart beating?" Donna stepped forwards.  

"Um.  Yes?" He leaned his head down on her chest.  "What? What?" He seemed to have great difficulty pulling away from her, but he managed it an scooted right over to the computer running through Rose's vitals and started scrolling through them, looking curiously at all the Gallifreyan writing scrawling across the screen.  "I don't... This can't be _possible,"_ he groaned.  "What-?" He looked up at the ceiling. "Don't torture me, old girl.  Don't."

"What's going on?" Donna demanded. 

He ignored her for a few moments more, talking to himself and pulling a stethoscope out of seemingly nowhere. He pressed it to Rose's heart on one side and then the other. He reached down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  

"Wake up, Rose."

"What-" Donna was even more confused now than ever.  "What's going _on,_ Doctor? You need to tell me?"

"She's... She's... Stand back!" He ran to the doorway and pushed Donna out of it, running from Rose and the table.   

All of a sudden, the gold that had been spewing from her mouth shot from her hands, feet, and head, filling the room with a glow.  Donna gasped and ducked behind the Doctor, and she could practically feel his hearts pounding through his back.  And then suddenly, it stopped, the gold stopping, and Rose coughed, rolling onto her side.  

The Doctor bolted to her side and helped her sit up.  "Rose?  Rose?"

"Blimey," she breathed out, touching her head. "God, my head hurts." She looked up at him. "What's wrong, what happened?"

"You died."

She gave him a look.  "Obviously not."

Instead of laughing at her quip, he started crying again, even though he was smiling, and he pulled her into a crushing hug, burying his face in the side of her neck.

She wrapped her arms slowly around his neck, a little confused.  She looked over at Dona, who looked just as surprised as the Doctor did.  She furrowed her brow.  "I didn't die," she said softly.

"You did, honey."

"You regenerated," the Doctor mumbled against her skin, and she shivered.  

"I did not," she said. She pulled a piece of her hair in front of her face.  "I'm still blonde."

"I'll explain later," he said softly, "Can't I just hug you for a second?"

She rested her cheek against his shoulder, holding him close. He was shaking and seemed terribly nervous.  

"Yeah, you can hug me," she said.  

Donna looked at them, still looking upset and confused.  "What do you mean? How is that- what is she-?"

Rose shrugged. "Doctor?  Doctor, look at me," she pushed him off her and cupped his tear stained cheeks in her hands.  "How about we go and have a nice cup of tea and you explain everything to us, okay?  You tell me how I'm still alive."

He pressed his forehead to her shoulder, like a puppy begging for more attention.  "Alright."

"Okay, well, you're going to have to let go of me."

He reluctantly stepped back from her, and held his hand out for her. She tried to get to her feet but stumbled a little, feeling a little weak. He caught her and scooped her up, one arm under her knees and the other behind her shoulders.  "Okay, let's go."

The three of them went to the galley and Donna offered to prepare them some tea.  The Doctor set Rose down in a chair and sat next to her, taking her hand in his.  He kissed her knuckles and watched her carefully. 

"So, you've got some explaining to do, Doctor," Rose said, "What do you mean, I regenerated? I'm not Time Lord."

"Time Lady, and you _weren't,_ but-" he shrugged, "You do have the tendency to be completely unpredictable."

She smiled. "Explain."

"There shouldn't have been any Bad Wolf at all left in you," he said slowly, a bit unsure as how to explain this.  "You kept it in you, somehow, and drew it out. So, with the help of the TARDIS, you rewrote your DNA strands to be Gallifreyan."

"Has that ever happened before?" Donna asked, crossing her arms.

"No," the Doctor shook his head, then looked at Rose.  "But you _would_ be the first, my love."

She smiled a little sheepishly.  "You keep saying impossible, but that word doesn't seem to mean a lot in our world."

"No, certainly not," he agreed.  "But the tea should help give you some strength back."

"How come I didn't change?"

"You won't," the Doctor said, "Somehow, your body grew a second heart, thanks to the TARDIS probably, and your DNA is Gallifreyan, but your body, as written, doesn't have the capability to rewrite your physical appearance.  You'll stay just like this until you run out of regenerations."

She pressed her hand to her forehead. "Oh, my God.  I'm a Time Lady."

"Yes."

"And I'm gonna look like this forever?"

"Yes."

"You know, about two years ago I would have never believed this."

"I think the both of you owe the TARDIS a big thank you," Donna said, patting the wall before putting cups of tea in front of the both of them. "Doctor, I'll take care of things at the hospital. What do you want them to do with the Master?"

His eyes darkened.  "If he's not dead, have them bind him and bring him here."

"I'll leave you two alone, then," Donna nodded and left the TARDIS, making her way back to the hotel.

"Does this mean we get to... Forever?" Rose whispered, afraid to voice the sentiment in case the universe heard and destroyed it.

The Doctor's grin was more brilliant than the sun and he nodded. "Yes.  Us, Rose, forever.  But I didn't... I don't think you know how I truly feel."

Rose furrowed her brow. "You don't love me?"

His eyes blew wide, "I love you! I adore you," he cupped the back of her neck, forcing her to look at him.  "But I want to bond to you."

"What-"

"It's how the Time Lords got married,' He said softly, "That's what I want. I want to marry you."

"Like the Time Lords?"

"Yes, with Donna as our witness, if you'd like."

"Doctor, of course." She leaned forward and kissed him.  He gripped ehr tight, kissing her harder, drinking her in desperately.  After several passion filled moments, she pulled away, breathing hard. 

"Sorry, still feeling a little weak."

"It's alright," he whispered. "The TARDIS is trying to help you, I can feel her.  Your mind and body are newly Gallifreyan, you'll probably be tired for a long while yet."

"Well, that won't do. We have to take care of the Master." She said.

"We will," the Doctor said firmly, "But you have to be careful, my Rose.  Your body is weak.  You literally died.  I can't risk losing you again."

She nodded. "I don't think I fancy dying again.  My brain hurt."

"You mind was expanding," he explained.  "You should be alright now, but don't think I'm not going to run another couple of tests."

She smiled and nodded. "I would expect nothing less."


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping up some loose ends in this chapter. Next will be the Doctor and Rose having a nice long chat :)

 

The Doctor sat silently, holding Rose’s hand in his, almost afraid to move.  He looked dazed, tear tracks still staining his cheeks and making her heart tumble uncomfortably.  She wanted to say something, but he seemed so lost in the silence that she wasn’t sure how to help him.  

She squeezed his hand, testing the waters.  He squeezed back and she breathed out a sigh of relief. So he was aware, at least.  They sat in another moment of long silence where neither of them could even bear to think of what had to be done.  It had been a hard day, for both of them, for all of them, really.  Everybody,   

  
“Are you alright?”

  
She expected, as most people did when they spoke to the Doctor, for him to say ‘I’m always alright’ and grin brightly, and haul her out of the galley and into the med bay to test her. She wasn’t sure why he hadn’t yet.

  
Instead of what she had expected, she received a tight smile from him.  “Not really,” he admitted, much to her shock.  “But I think I will be.”  
“Do you want to run your tests now?” She asked, hoping to draw a laugh from him.  It didn’t quite work, but the sparkle returned to his eye.

  
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking her hand in both of his instead of just the one. “I don’t mean to seem ungrateful for… For all of this, but I just… We have to finish this, and I don’t want to have to.”

  
“Donna and I could, and you wouldn’t have to do anything at all,” Rose offered, hoping to quell the guilt he felt for something that hadn’t even happened yet.  He looked at her, watching her with a gentle stare that cut through her and put her back together all at once.  

  
“No,” he said, “He’s destroyed too many lives. I thought I could fix him, and I can’t. I can’t, because it’s not my job anymore.  I have to destroy him, unless you did it for me already.”

  
She smiled sheepishly at him, feeling a little guilty about the whole thing for the first time since she’d woken up,  “I guess I should’ve talked to you instead of just doing what I wanted.”

  
“No!” He shook his head, “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. What you did was incredible, Rose, and it transformed you, and I could never resent you for that,’ he reached out to cup her cheek for emphasis, forcing her to look at him.  “Rose, please.”

  
She cocked an eyebrow at him, confused as to why he would plead with her.  “You’re anxious,” she stated.

  
“I suppose I am,” he replied, dropping his hand from her. “Come with me?”

  
“To the med bay or the hotel?”

  
“The med bay. I want to check in with you before we do anything else.”

  
“But the Master-”

  
“Can wait,” The Doctor stared her down.  “He’s locked up.  You could still be in trouble.”

  
“Won’t I just regenerate-”

  
“Don’t,” he said sharply. “Do not put yourself in danger because you can regenerate now,” He stood up and pulled her to her feet.  “Let’s go.”

  
He took her to the med bay, and ran tests on her DNA.  He stood by his computer and put his glasses on, looking over Rose’s statistics.  “Fully Time Lady, aside from the fact that you can’t change your appearance when you regenerate.”

  
She chewed her bottom lip. “So now I’m going to outlive you?” She asked, concerned.

  
“No,” the Doctor said, “You’re human, so with a naturally shorter lifespan, your regenerations will be shorter as well.”  

  
“Explain.  What does that mean for us?”

  
He blew out a long, drawn out sigh, and approached her on the table. He set his hands on her thighs and looked at her.  “I’m on my tenth regeneration. I get twelve.  I can survive for centuries and centuries without regenerating,” he reached out and trailed his fingers along her jaw. “Our timelines will run out at about the same time.”

  
Her breath hitched as she realized exactly what they meant for them. “So, we… I can stay? Forever?”

  
“Forever,” he agreed, a splitting grin appearing on his face. He kissed her softly, fingers trailing into her hair, and then pulled back. “But unfortunately, we do have some business to take care of out at the hotel.”

  
She picked up one of his hands in both of hers, her small palms framing in his fingers.  “Okay, let’s go.”

  
Everyone was still in the Master’s dungeon, but he was awake now, swearing and cursing but stumbling around as his body was very weak.  Althea and Donna were at the forefront of the crowd, staring grimly into the cell.

  
“Oh, shut up, the Doctor’s in,” the Doctor said playfully.

  
The Master’s eyes shot up and burned with an anger that Rose couldn't even begin to understand.  He lunged forward. “So this is why you like humans, eh?  They’ve got a lot of fight in them, you know.”

  
“Yes, I’m aware,” the Doctor replied, shoving the hand not holding Rose’s into his pocket.  “I’m also aware that you did some very stupid things that would warrant them to lock you up like this, don’t you see that?”

  
The Master groaned and rolled his eyes. “I’m not in the mood for a lecture, Doctor. You’re not better than me.”

  
“Never said I was,” The Doctor replied.  “But Rose Tyler, on the other hand, and Donna Noble, and this lovely woman Althea, God are they better than you,” he grinned.  “You’ve lost.  Where are the drums?”

  
The Master slumped.  “They hurt,” he admitted, wearily.  He was just as war beaten as the Doctor was, Rose realized, and she felt a bit bad for trying to destroy his mind from the inside.  Then again, he’d sort of deserved it, but she supposed that didn't make it alright.  

  
With a gentle sigh, the Doctor looked down at Rose.  He smiled at her and she let go of his hand, sensing that this was something that he needed to take care of himself.

  
There was no tittering or any movement from any of the people in the room. Althea stood solemn, like at a funeral, and Donna clenched her jaw to keep from saying somethign that they would all regret.  

  
The Doctor crouched where the Master sat, on the other end of the bars, still in safety.  “You don’t understand anything human. That’s why you want to take them over. I’m going to take you to a planet you will never escape from, because I have to, don’t you understand?  You’ve given me no choice, Koschei.”

  
Like a whip, the Master’s head snapped up. “Don’t call me that.”

  
“We all chose our titles to run from our names. It’s time to stop running.” The Doctor said it so solemnly that Rose wondered if there was something behind it that he wasn’t going to explain to her about his own past.

  
“No! You can’t do this!”

  
With as weak as the Master’s mind already was, it was no surprise that the Doctor’s hand could shoot out and touch the Master’s temple, knocking the man unconscious.  “We’ll take him back to the TARIDS,” he said, “Tie him up, dump him off where he can never hurt anyone again.”

  
“You can not bind him,” Althea piped up.  “You have to have some incredibly strong bonds to hold a man such as him.”

  
The Doctor nodded. “Taken care of.  He gave Althea a gracious nod. “Thank you for all you’ve done to help us.”

  
Althea beamed. “Of course,” she said, “I am only glad that I was able to help.”

  
The prison cell was opened, and the Doctor hoisted the Master over his shoulder with an inelegant grunt.  He grinned at Rose, who had been worrying her lip with her teeth for the past several minutes.  “Let’s go home,” he said softly, and she managed a smile.

  
Althea left them at the doors of the TARDIS, giving Donna a hug and telling her that she was quite happy to have found a friend like her. Donna almost didn’t want to leave when she said that, but she knew she belonged on the TARDIS, or at the very least, in London.  So the three of them walked into the TARDIS.

  
The Doctor dumped the Master onto the jump seat, and the TARDIS provided some incredibly strong restraints to help him out.  He tied the Master up with it and looked apologetically at Rose and Donna.

  
“Sorry, gonna need your seat for a bit,” he said, and the women managed to smile.

  
“Where will you take him?” Donna asked.  “He’ll get out, that’s what he always does, isn’t it?  He just gets out.”

  
The Doctor shook his head.  “I’m taking him to a life of imprisonment.  He can’t run from them all, now that he’s got his real name out in the open,” he looked over at his old friend and shook his head. “It’s honestly a pity, that he’s destroyed himself like this. I feel sorry for him.” he looked at Donna and Rose again, “I’m lucky to have both of you. Very lucky.”

  
“And don’t you forget it,” Donna said, fighting back tears at his honest words as she crossed her arms over her chest,  Luckily, Rose was not so shy and leapt into the Doctor’s arms, holding him tight around the neck.  He squeezed her tight, his eyes shut.

  
“Come on,” he whispered, “We’ve got work to do.”

***

They traveled to a planet that was very close to where Gallifrey used to be.  Rose was surprised that the Doctor had gone ahead and told them that.  He rang the authorities and told them he was dropping the Master at their prison, but he had said his name, 'Koschei'.  Rose wondered, not fo rthe first time, what the Doctor's real name was.  

 

What they didn't expect was for the Master to wake up.  He shot upright and pulled on his bonds, snarling and swearing at them.  His eyes darted around at the surprised inhabitants of the TARDIS.  "Let me go," he said to the Doctor, "I'll say your name."

The Doctor sniffed and jolted his chin at Donna. "Donna, could you go outside and speak to the authorities for me.  They'll be waiting."

"I could go-" Rose started. 

Donna shook her head. "No, you stay here, keep an eye on them," she said, holding a hand up as she left the TARDIS.  The doors shut and the three left in the ship all regarded each other like animals ready to pounce.

"You can say my name now," the Doctor said calmly.  He looked at Rose. "That alright?"

Rose wrinkled her nose. "Yeah? Sure?"

The Master smiled wickedly and spouted out a beautiful word that Rose had no hope to repeat but yes, she remembered it.   _Oh,_ she would remember it forever. It was a beautiful sound, and she felt it grab onto her mind and she realized exactly what it was.  Yes, it was the Doctor's name, but it was also what he had mentioned about being mentally connected. 

The Doctor rocked on his heels and nodded. "Are you quite done?"

A confused and upset look settled over the Master's face.  "What?  You're not mad that I went on and said your name in front of this  _human?"_

"No. I was going to ask Rose to be my bond mate anyway," he said, lifting a shoulder.  "Sorry you had to have it that way, Rose."

"It's okay." She replied, smiling a little.

The Doctor rubbed his finger under his nose.  "Well, now that that's sorted.  You should know that Rose is a Time Lady.  Let's get you right to jail, shall we?"

That was the moment that the Master went properly mad, biting at nothing and snarling.  The Doctor looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Donna!"

It was only a moment of hesitation before the TARDIS doors burst open and Donna led in two massive guards with blue skin and pure white eyes.  They saw the Master and bore down on him, handcuffing him and pulling him off the jump seat, with the Doctor's assistance of releasing the other bonds that he had put on her. 

"You had a chance, Koschei," the Doctor said solemnly, "Just remember that."

The Master shot him a dirty look and was knocked unconscious by one of the guards.  The Doctor looked incredibly glum as he watched his old friend collapse. 

"Thank you, Doctor," one of the guards said.  "You saved the world yet again."

He smiled a little.  "Thank you."  He shook hands with both the guards, as did Rose, and the Master was taken from the TARDIS.  The doors shut and Donna pressed against them, as though checking to make sure they were closed.  She turned to the Doctor and Rose, sensing that a little alone time needed to be had between the two of them. 

"I'm gonna go have a nice long bath and lie down," Donna said, "Don't wake me for twenty four hours."

Rose giggled. "Might be longer than that for me, I'm exhausted."

"Well, you did just die, dear." Donna gave Rose a hug goodnight and patted the Doctor on the shoulder.  

Rose looked at the Doctor after Rose disappeared and touched the lapel on his jacket, getting his attention. "Talk to me," she murmured.  

He pulled her close to him, burying his nose in her neck. "Oh, I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered. "Please explain to me what just happened."

He sighed and pulled back, pressing a kiss to her temple on the way. "Never could slip anything past you, could I?" she shook her head and he continued, "Alright, well, first, let's get cleaned up, and then we'll have a nice cup of tea and talk."

She looked at him skeptically. "Really?"

He nodded vehemently. "Yes," he told her, "Rose, I promise."

She popped up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't think too hard," she told him, and walked down the hallway. 

He smiled a little after her. How was it that she'd gotten to know him quite so well?


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AWW This is the end!!!!!! This story has been received so well thank you all for reading!! Please review this final chapter?
> 
> My next story will be my Human Nature AU that I wrote on Wattpad last year, but I am currently doing HEAVY maintenance on it. I will add at least 1000 words to each chapter and be editing them as well. I've been working on it for a few days so I'll probably be able to get the first chapter out soon!!!!

For the first time in a very long time, Rose didn't spend an hour in the shower, trying to numb her body.  She did a quick scrub down with loads of soap, washed her hair twice, and then toweled off. She dressed herself in pajamas and dried her hair, letting it fall in natural waves down to her shoulders.  

She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked more like her old self, now.  After a moment of nervousness, she pulled up the front of her top, looking at the skin that had previously been completely scarred. The Doctor had completely healed the skin, and she blew out a little sigh of relief. That part of her life, the woman that belonged to those scars, that was over.  She let the shirt fall back down to her hips and walked to the galley, where the Doctor was already waiting. 

He already had the tea brewing on the stove when she came in, and he was wearing the pajamas he'd worn when he had first regenerated. She smiled a litle and leaned on the doorjamb.

"Hi," she said softly.

He turned to her and grinned happily at her.  "Hi," he said, and beckoned for her to come to him.  She shuffled up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from the back, her hands splaying across his chest. She pressed a warm kiss to the back of his neck. 

"Are you feeling any better?" She asked softly.  

He nodded a little, and she could feel it in the pull of the muscles in his neck.  "A little."

They stood in silence, and she pulled away to let him pour their tea and prepare it. She sat down at her chair and watched as he came over, setting her pink mug in front of her and sitting down next to her.  

"So that's your name," she said softly, and took a sip of her tea. "It seemed like a really big deal."

"It is," The Doctor said softly.  "It's... The name of a Time Lord is the most powerful thing in the world, and I never wanted you to receive it that way.  He said it with malice, not with... What's intended."

Rose furrowed her brow, "What do you mean 'receive it'?"

The Doctor sighed. This was going to be very confusing.  He ran his hands through his hair and looked at her.  After a moment of companionable silence, he held his hand out. Without hesitation she slipped her hand into his and he let out a long breath of relief. 

"Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not gonna be mad."

"Okay, well, remember you said that." 

She smiled a little at his flustered and clumsy behavior.  "Doctor, I'm not going to be mad at you."

He stared down at her hand, and seemed to be watching it carefully. "I know that back of your hand better then I know the back of mine," he said softly, "And... And I missed this hand.  I missed holding it and I missed _you._ And... When I- when we, I mean, you know, kissed and told each other what we meant to each other, I wanted to give you my name."

She felt her voice shaking a little when she replied, "But tell me what that means."

He looked up at her, his eyes vulnerable and open, full of so much love she thought she might burst simply from looking at him.  "It means the beginning of a marriage vow, Rose.  that I give you my real name, and you hold it in your heart.  It's the most powerful commitment a Time Lord can give."

"Is that why you made Donna leave the TARDIS before the Master had a chance to say it?" Rose asked, starting to understand but still struggling to put the pieces together.  

The Doctor smiled and nodded.  "Um... Yes.  Don't really fancy being bonded to Donna."  With a reluctant sigh he released her hand and got to his feet.  Rose tugged him back down. 

"Where are you going?" She asked sharply.

He blinked at her.  "I'm- um, I assumed that you would need some time to think about this, you know, it's all very overwhelming and-"

Really, he was impossible to shut up. Rose reached forward and planted her hand over his mouth, "Doctor," she said warningly. "Tell me more. What does that mean for us?"

"I should've given you the choice," he whispered as she removed her hand, now around tears, "But I thought it wouldn't matter, that you would want... Me.  But I realized not a moment after I did it that I shouldn't have forced it on you. I should've made both you and Donna leave."

"But then the Master would've just yelled your name."

"Do you... Remember it?"

"I don't think I could pronounce it," she admitted, "But I remember it."

"Can you..." he scooted his chair closer to hers, his knees knocking against hers.   "Try to say it... Just... If you- try, then it should elicit a response in me.  If you want!  I don't want to assume, oh, bollocks, I'm messing this up, I didn't even propose to you and-"

"Doctor!" Rose laughed, her heart filling with joy.  "Oh, of course I want this, of _course_ I do. How could you even ask that?"

He looked at her sheepishly, "I wouldn't want to presume."

She very nearly snorted with laughter at him, but he seemed so delicate that she couldn't manage it.  Instead, she nodded.  "Doctor.  I love you. I never thought you would want to _marry_ me."

He grinned, _beamed,_ really. "Of course I want to marry you, Rose.  I can't think of a day that you were gone that I didn't miss you," he paused, as though what she had said finally set in.  "So this is... Alright?"

"Yes.  Absolutely. More than alright."

"So if I asked you to try and say my name?" 

"I could try," she said, "I might butcher it."

He smiled at her softly and shook his head. "I doubt that you would butcher it," he told her. 

She crooked a finger and made him lean his head towards hers (which didn't take much convincing) and she placed her free hand on the side of his neck and drew him close that that her mouth lined up with his ear. She breathed out a sigh, hoping she wouldn't mess this all up, and whispered what she thought she remembered into his ear. 

It was an odd sound, and she could feel the cadence of the language she had never spoken running over her in a pleasant way. The Doctor shuddered as she spoke, his hand fisting in her pajama top.  She pressed a kiss to his temple and moved back. He followed her, pressing his forehead to hers, his eyes shut. 

"Rose," he breathed out, "Let me inside your mind? Please?"

He sounded so desperate for any sort of touch that she brought his hand up to her temple herself and pressed hers to his.   He gasped and pressed his forehead tighter up against hers as he prodded gently at her mind. 

She let him in, and it was clear that he wasn't looking for anything inside her consciousness, just sitting there, floating through the golden tendrils of her mind. She felt his sigh, didn't hear it, just felt it. 

 _"Would you like to be married, Rose?"_ he asked, straight into her mind. 

_"Yes."_

_"Come with me."_

He slowly pulled from her mind, seeming content.  "This is traditionally done in the bedroom," he told her quietly.  "If that's alright."

She stood up and pulled him to his feet. "Well, come on, let's go."

"Do we need a witness? If you're gonna do something in my head?" She asked.  

He shook his head. "No.  Or at least, we don't _need_ one.  We can... I want... It can be as intimate or public as you want."

"I want what you want," she said honestly.  

He smiled a little, surprised at her reaction, but pleasantly so.  He nodded, almost to himself. "I want... I want it to be private. I don't know that Donna is good at that sort of thing, witnessing, and I don't think it would do us any good to have a grand event."

He was right, of course. As gently as he had put it, the intent behind it was obvious.  There was no family left.  Jackie, Mickey... Gone.   And he didn't have enough people to fill a whole church.  Martha and Jack would come, he was certain of that, but beyond that.  No.  It would hurt Rose's gentle heart less for them to do things together with no one else.  

She smiled, understanding what he was saying even though he was being quiet about it.  Rose jerked her head towards the door and she walked out the door.  He followed close behind, not about to leave her alone.  

"Where do we-?"

He took the lead before she finished her question, taking her hand gently in his and tugging her along towards his room.  

For all the times that he'd been in her rooms, she'd never been in his.  She followed along with him until they reached a dark wood door.  The Doctor looked a little nervous when he opened the door and glanced at Rose before he walked into the door.

Rose followed as he released her hand to allow them passage into the door.  She walked into the room and blew out a breath.  There was a high ceiling with glowing constellations scattered across it.  She knew she was gaping but couldn't really help it.  The light cast a white glow down on the Doctor's bed, a king size affair with a dark blue duvet.  There were lots of bookshelves and a desk in the corner and tucked away to one side was an ajar door to an en suite. 

"I didn't.. I always thought your room would be the same size as mine."

"Did you now?" He looked at her, his lips quirked. "So you thought of it."

She thumped his arm. "You know I did."

He grinned at her and headed to one of his bookshelves.  "I have an old handfasting garment from Gallifrey. Was never used."

"And you want-"

"With you, yes.  It's not hard, I'll show you," he beckoned her over to the bed and gently set down the wood box he's brought down on the covers.  He took off his dressing gown and sat down on the bed, back on his haunches.  Rose sat opposite him, on the other side of the box.  He opened it slowly, pulling out a red cloth with golden embroidery on it.  After Rose had the time to let out a breathless 'oh' at how beautiful it was, the Doctor put the box behind him.

"It means 'eternal'," he said, showing Rose the circular Gallifreyan written on the material.  He took her left hand in his.  "They say that the wedding ring goes onto the left ring finger because there is a vein there, the only vein, that connects to the heart.  The Gallifreyans didn't believe this, and they were around first, but it seemed a bit romantic to me, I suppose."

"Oh, it is," she said softly, and he smiled at her.  He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and wrapped the tie, one handed, around both their hands. He had her take one end with her opposite hand and wrap it up her arm as he did the same with the other side.

"Now," he said, as the lights glowed a little brighter over them, letting them look at each other, "Repeat after me.  I am yours."

"I am yours."

"For now and forever, until our timelines should run out."

"For now and forever, until our timelines should run out."

"With all that I have been in my past lives, all that I am in the body I inhabit now, and all that I will become in the following, I love you."

She repeated him, her smile blooming when she realized she could actually mean that now.  

He reached his hand up and touched her temple. "I have to seal the bond,' he said, "This is more honest then any vow, as you will see all that I feel for you and I will see all that you feel for me."

She pressed her head into his touch and he gasped, allowing himself into her mind.  Because of the words they had spoken, they were allowed the deepest access into each other's minds.  He felt, for the first time, how much she had loved him since they had faced the Slitheen in Downing street.  And of course, she saw that he had loved her for just as long. 

They sifted through each other's memories as their bond grew stronger, until Rose felt her hands begin to sweat with the intensity of it all.  He slowly removed himself from her mind and sat back on his heels, but found he was a little closer to her than before.  

"And now," he whispered, "We fold the cloth together and put it away.  And it is not touched for the rest of eternity, holding our love within the embroidery." He smiled. "Not true, that last bit, but nice to think about, isn't it?"

"Very nice," she replied, her voice at an equal volume.  They unwound their hands and folded it together, in silence, and the Doctor settled it back into the box, closing it, and then carrying it to the bookshelf, replacing it there.  

She waited for him on the bed, and he returned, cupping her cheeks gently.  "And I am now going to kiss the bride."

She giggled and he pressed his mouth to hers, reveling in it, reveling in the opportunity to have this amazing woman before him.  He had never been a lucky man, but this? This was better than he could have ever hoped for. 

He lifted her about the waist and pulled her, throwing her down on the pillows, causing her to squeak in alarm.  She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed his way down her neck. 

"I'm going to buy you," he said between kisses and nips and licks, "The most beautiful wedding ring."

"Does that mean I can buy you one."

"Well, you'd just be using my money," he said, biting her collarbone.

She gasped as he made the slow trek back up to her mouth while also unbuttoning her pajama top.  "Well, you have unlimited credit."

"True!" He braced himself above her. "Rose Tyler, how I love you."

She brushed the backs of her fingers across his jawbone.  "I love you." She grinned. "My husband."

"Oh, yes!" he swooped down and kissed her again, with a more possessive edge behind it, one hand wrapping around her back, holding her tight against him.  She wrapped her legs around his waist and tugged him down, and she knew in that moment, the moment where he fit right with her, that they were always going to be together.

She kissed him back with an ardor she had never kissed with before.  Kissing had never seemed so important, because no man had ever been so important.  She gasped when he pulled away and dived down to attack her neck.  She closed her eyes and curled her hands into his hair.  He brought his hands back to the front of her shirt and ripped the rest of it open. She followed suit by ripping his open.  He laughed and went down to capture her mouth again, wrestling with her a little bit.  They were both laughing breathlessly and pushing each other about until she ended up on top of him.

"The tables have turned," She teased, tickling his sides.

He squirmed and snorted under her and sat up and grabbed her back, tugging her against him. "Two can play at that game."

"Oh. No, NO Doctor!" She laughed as he began tickling her back, distracting her enough to throw her down on the pillows again. He kissed his way down her body until he was over her stomach. He ran his hands over the smooth skin there.  

"All better," he whispered, looking up at her.  

She grinned, a full, wide grin that put the stars above them to shame. She knew what he was saying and decided firmly, running her fingers from the crown of his head to the base of his skull. "Yes.  All better."

He smiled happily at her and tugged her knees, pulling her down to him instead of moving back up.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and they grinned at each other like loons, and both of them realized this was the happiest they had ever been.

Many hours later, she was wrapped around him, her head pillowed on his chest and her leg wrapped tightly around his hips.  He stroked his hand up and down her back, the sweat cooling his own fingers.  

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head from where he lay, content to watch the stars dance over her skin.  He smiled to himself, for the first time since he'd lost her, feeling completely full.

Rose Tyler. 

His _wife.  Bondmate. Partner._

His Time Lady.

He held her closer and she hummed in her sleep, shifting closer to him.  He pressed his nose into her hair and closed his eyes. 

For once in his life, the Doctor got what he wanted.  And he got to keep her.

Forever.


End file.
